Dear friends from ESSF,
I was relessed late last night. The police chief told me that he has three months detention order and that he is sending me to one of the most notorious jail in Mianwali, around 400 kilometer away from Lahore.
He wanted me to stop the agitation against the military regime. I plainly refused and told him that the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has taken my case already. I told him that he should take of his job as he has done an illegal act by taking me into custody. We had a hot word exchange.
LPP had announced nationwide demos for today. Yours and others letter of protest and messages had started to arrive. The electronic media was broadcasting my arrest. An SMS campaign on mobile phones meant that there was a non stop flow of messages of protest.
So the police chief called me at 12 night again to tell that he was suspending my detention order, and that I can go home.
Thanks,
Farooq Tariq
Farooq Tariq
general secretary
Labour Party Pakistan
40-Abbot Road Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: 92 42 6315162 Fax: 92 42 6271149 Mobile: 92 300 8411945,
labourpartypk yahoo.com www.laborpakistan.org www.jeddojuhd.com
Pakistani left leader Farooq Tariq released
Peter Boyle
11 May 2007
Labour Party Pakistan (LPP) general secretary Farooq Tariq was released from detention in the early hours of May 7. Tariq and more than 1000 others were rounded up the previous Friday in a failed attempt by the government of General Pervez Musharraf to weaken a mass reception for a visit by suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to Lahore. Chaudhry was suspended for being too independent of the Mushurraf regime and too respectful of the rule of law.
Tens of thousands turned out all along the way from Islamabad to Lahore, and what was normally a four-hour drive became a 24-hour cavalcade for democracy.
Tariq told Green Left Weekly that Punjab province’s police chief had issued a three-month detention order against him. It was to be served in one of the most notorious jails, Mianwali, around 400 kilometres from Lahore.
The police chief “wanted me to stop agitation against the military regime”, Tariq said. “I plainly refused and told him that the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has taken up my case.” Tariq called for the police chief’s resignation, as he had committed an “illegal act by taking me into custody”.
After the LPP had announced nationwide demonstrations, a flood of protest letters had been sent and “an SMS campaign that sent non-stop messages of protest”, Tariq was released.
“In Lahore alone, around 935 were arrested. Most of them have been released but about 50 are still in jails”, said Tariq.
Tariq has pursued a case of illegal arrest against the police and on May 10 a judge issued notices to the three most senior police officers to come to court on May 17 to explain the reasons for Tariq’s arrest.
On May 12, thousands are expected to welcome Chaudhry in Karachi when he is scheduled to address the Karachi Bar Association. The Musharraf regime is planning counter-rallies, booking out most public transport to bring public sector employees, who are being forced to join the counter-rallies or risk losing their jobs.
From: International News, Green Left Weekly issue #709 16 May 2007.