JEDDAH, 26 October — Keeping in tune with his war against illegal detention of the innocent people the world over, renowned human rights activist and chairman of Ansar Burney Welfare Trust, Ansar Burney, has appealed to the United States and other European countries to release all Saudi and UAE nationals detained after the Sept. 11 attack in the US and other Western countries.
Burney said, "I do not wish to defend those who violate the laws or indulge in terrorism but in the greater interest of humanity and human rights I request the US and other countries not to treat Saudis and Arabs on a discriminatory basis without any evidence against them."
"They must be treated properly", Burney added.
"My heart is crying for those innocents who were killed in Sept. 11 attacks, I feel as if I have lost my own family members, but at the same time I condemn any witch hunting on the part of the US.
The Ansar Burney Trust, a Pakistan-based NGO, has sent relief materials worth one million rupees for Afghan refugees, said Burney who was in the Kingdom to perform Umrah.
Speaking to Arab News Burney said that the relief materials included rice, pulses and potatoes besides medicines and tents. He said, "We have tried to send the food stuff liked by the Afghans." He pointed out that since food habits of Afghans were different from others, particularly from the Westerners, the food generally being sent to them are of no use. They do not like bread and butter that is why we have sent food stuff which they can consume."
Burney was critical of the way the innocent Afghan people were being bombed. He said that there should be some difference between terrorists and responsible states. But in the present situation it has become difficult to distinguish between the two.
Burney said that since its inception till now his trust has been able to get more than 400,000 innocent people released who were illegally imprisoned in Pakistan as well as in other countries.
The trust has also arranged the release of about 10,000 persons from mental asylums. In most of these cases Burney said that the people were lodged in the asylums at the behest of some influential persons, without any mental illness.
The trust has also recovered 60,000 missing person and handed them over to their relatives, Burney said.
Speaking about the threat and hassles in his campaign to uphold human dignity and ensure basic human rights to one and all, Burney said that "of course I face threat to my life, particularly when I started a drive against bonded labor (Haris) in interior Sindh. Big landlords threatened me not to take up the issue. But even then I fought for these laborers and got roughly 2,000 of them released. My campaign is still on and I hope to rid my country of this social evil one day."
He said that when President Pervez Musharraf visited India in May, the question of prisoners of war (POWS) was also raised. "Immediately, I wrote to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to provide me some information about the missing prisoners so that they could be released. But till now I have not yet received any information from him." He further added that he is also in touch with the Indian mission in Islamabad on this issue.
Burney who was a student leader in the early eighties, and an advocate by profession, started this non-political, non-governmental and non-profitable organization, in 1980, and since then is relentlessly fighting for human rights in Pakistan and is the first to lend voice to millions lodged in jails the world over.
In recognition of his work Burney has been honored by over 200 awards some of them include "Top Outstanding Young Person of the World" award from Helsinki, Finland and "Paul Harris Fellowship Award" from the US. The latest feather in his cap is "Sitara-e-Imtiaz," Pakistan’s one of the highest civilian award, which Burney will receive on March 23, 2002.
