Truth Speaker: An Interview with a torture victim

Written by Aftab Hassan Khan


Please tellrepparttar readers about you early life

My complete name is Aftab hassan Khan by Education I'm an Electronics and Computer system engineer.Born in district Umerkot Sindh,in 1979 . Graduated from The Karachi college of Computer Science, Karachi and completed Diploma of Associate Engineer in Electronics Engineering from Sindh board of Technical education Karachi. I started writing for weekly magzine 'Workers Struggle' on regularly basis my friends and father has encouraged me to write forrepparttar 132381 paper.

During my studies inrepparttar 132382 Karachi from 1996 to 2003, I was introduced torepparttar 132383 ideas of Marxism by Left student organizationsuch as National Student Federation.We were inrepparttar 132384 opposite camp of Islami Jamiat Tulba. We had several clashed physical and ideological with IJT and were neck to neck in our support forrepparttar 132385 Left wing ideas. I was elected Hall secretary of our student house.

After my studies I joined a NGO working forrepparttar 132386 democratic development of Pakistan, bringing peace in south Asia and Labour rights in in particular but was also working for women and Human rights inrepparttar 132387 country. I becomerepparttar 132388 editor ofrepparttar 132389 monthly magzine ' Democracy News' and started writting regulary forrepparttar 132390 magzine.Duringrepparttar 132391 course of fighting for a Democratic Pakistan, I have been arrested several times. All of my arrests were of political nature. It was some of my writings againstrepparttar 132392 military dictatorship of General Musharraf that I had to leaverepparttar 132393 country in 2003. I opted to go to Sweden to seek asylum there.

Why did you start to work againstrepparttar 132394 injustice inrepparttar 132395 country?

Leading an authentic life according to conscience, honesty and a commitment to truth can, at times, be very difficult. I was hardly of 18 years when, as a member of a supressed society , my concerns forrepparttar 132396 poor, needy and oppressed people were continually troubling me.

Inrepparttar 132397 General Musharraf's so called democratic MILITARY GOVERNMENT. To speak of one's own rights, of lashes inflicted upon people, of independence, peace and democracy is deemed a great crime. Due to global interests,repparttar 132398 United States maintaines close relations with Musharraf and supports both him and his Military Government In these days,repparttar 132399 person who spoke of democracy is considered a member of Al-Qiada or an agent of RAW.

The Pakistani army, Police andrepparttar 132400 Rangers raided our home several times. They took away everything; they did not even leave a single one of our pet chickens. They stripped my father, mother and sisters naked and rained lashes on their bare backs. Mortal pen sometimes stops to mention such things or flowing tears fromrepparttar 132401 poor eyes vanish awayrepparttar 132402 written matters. Atrepparttar 132403 top of these tortures, which is actually very difficult to describe or write down, isrepparttar 132404 arrest of my own blood, my father, my mother and my sister, being dragged torepparttar 132405 police station and inhuman insult, and they have killed my father.

Now I am constrained to disclose that in order to avoid torture and inhuman insult for championingrepparttar 132406 freedom of women, child labor, reduction of school fees, improvement inrepparttar 132407 standards of teaching and schools and universities in general, fostering love amongrepparttar 132408 student community, and speaking againstrepparttar 132409 torture of my parents, it was necessary for me to go into exile. Life is preferred to death; even ifrepparttar 132410 cost is greater in choosing it, it makes possiblerepparttar 132411 saving of even more lives. This exile continued from september 2003 and I have not seen my sweet mother and sisters during all this time. Until now, I am not inrepparttar 132412 position to correspond with them because ofrepparttar 132413 strict espionage ofrepparttar 132414 cruel government.

Thirst for human blood,repparttar 132415 claws of brutes and savage animals, espionage and torture by sophisticated weapons are still obstacles that obstructrepparttar 132416 expression of human values andrepparttar 132417 innate love between mother and son.

Which difficulties and torture have you faced during all your activities in Pakistan?

Now, I briefly relaterepparttar 132418 hardships and sufferings that I have experienced during my all exile period. Oncerepparttar 132419 Pakistani law inforcment agencies has captured me and inflicted great inhuman torture upon my person by making me naked and sprinkling very hot water on my body which caused blisters on my skin. The blisters and injuries took years together in their healing. They immersed chiles in my anus. My brown complexion had so much darkened that nobody could even recognize me. Anyway, after some time, I was able to escaperepparttar 132420 dark dungeons and remained fugitive to unknown places where God almighty kept me alive. Sometime afterwards, I was again captured byrepparttar 132421 brutes. But God is great who blinded their eyes and they released me saying that I was notrepparttar 132422 same Aftab. Thanks to God.

The personnel ofrepparttar 132423 pakistani law enforcment agencies in plain clothes arbitrarily arrested .After my arbitrary arrest, I was taken torepparttar 132424 unknown place where I was brutally tortured including hitting of continuous blows on my chest and knees by batons. My both legs have been broken and I was in a critical condition fighting for my life. I was kept in incommunicado detention and denied meetings with his family members. My lawyers have also been denied access. I was inhumanly tortured to force me to sign a pre-written confessional statement prepared byrepparttar 132425 State accepting crimes that I have not committed. The Military Regime withrepparttar 132426 view to malignrepparttar 132427 image ofrepparttar 132428 me.

Articles 9 and 7 ofrepparttar 132429 Constitution of Pakistan prohibits arbitrary arrests and torture and prescribes that no one can be detained for more than twenty-four (24) hours without being charged and produced in a Court of Law. Plethora of international laws, U N Conventions and Treaties also contain these provisions, which are respected in many parts ofrepparttar 132430 world while totally disregarded in Pakistan, particularly in case of those who speak agaisntrepparttar 132431 injustice and undemocratic government inrepparttar 132432 country. Statements under duress are unlawful and taken purely for victimising political opponents in Pakistan.

The very real "great satan"---

Written by James Sorrell


For years ignorance & emotion has cloudedrepparttar issue when Arabs, or anyone else, point to some country or people and call them "the great satan"! (As Iraq cleric al-Sadr has done.) When will people learn that Satan, himself, ISrepparttar 132379 'great satan'? [The very real, as REAL as YOU are, fallen angel Lucifer, who incites and murdersrepparttar 132380 human race daily.] Withrepparttar 132381 fallen angel's deceptive, negative, manipulative influence gone, a lot ofrepparttar 132382 human race's problems would vanish overnight! We only need to learn how they function (tampering with our thoughts, feelings & emotions, and then inciting us against

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