TORONTO, 3 September — A renowned human rights activist Asma Jehangir of Pakistan has accused President Pervez Musharraf of serving the interest of International Monetary Fund (IMF). “Gen. Musharraf is blindly following the IMF agenda,” she said while addressing a select gathering of Pakistani-Canadians.
The event was organized here by a freelance journalist Ms. Raheel Raza, who is also a human rights activist. During her two-hour talk which included a question-answer session, Asma spoke on varied subjects concerning human rights violation in South Asian countries, women’s rights, democracy and military rule, rights of minorities, etc.
She said Musharraf did nothing for the country. “I do not think he seized power in the national interest. In fact, he staged a coup because his own life was in danger.” Asma, a founder and ex-chairperson of Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission, said she is not against the accountability but it should not be selective. It should be evenhanded. In this connection she referred to the leaders of Like-minded group of Pakistan Muslim League and asked: “How clean are they?”
Asma is UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial arbitrary and summary executions. She is recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay award (Asia’s most prestigious human rights award). She strongly advocated the cause of democracy in Pakistan and said unfortunately army had become stronger and it introduced different agenda to stay in power.
