28 August 2004	Saturday	11 Rajab 1425

ISLAMABAD, Aug 27: The families of the six detained military officers on Friday staged a peaceful demonstration demanding fundamental rights of their relatives imprisoned for nearly two years without the framing of charges.

The demonstration was organized by the Fundamental Rights Defence Committee (FRDC) of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). About 100 to 150 people took part in the procession. The family members of the detained army officers said that these officers were never involved in anti-government or any terrorist activities.

"They have been in prison for almost two years now. We have not seen them all this time. We did not know where they were being kept until recently we found that they were in Attock Fort," a family member said.

According to the information the family members had received through their sources, it was learnt that these officers were being kept in solitary confinement. "They are being humiliated, disgraced and kept in 6x6 cells. They have developed serious health problems. This is morally wrong on the part of the authorities," a family member of one of the military officers said.

The PTI coordinator, Khalid Khawaja, said these military personnel should be brought into the court and they must be given their due right to defend themselves. "The government has broken the law of the land. The objective of the demonstration is to protest against the "abduction" of these officers by the government and demand their fundamental rights," Mr Khawaja said.

He said the media and the parliament had passed a resolution for Pakistanis kidnapped in Iraq. "Now that our own citizens have been taken hostage, no court or institution is ready to address the grievances of their families."