July 24, 2006	Monday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 27, 1427

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LONDON, July 23: The World Sindh Congress (WSC) has denied allegations levelled against it by an unnamed Pakistani government official, as reported by Dawn in its July 20 issue.

In the report, the official accused the WSC of having links with terrorists in Sindh and Balochistan.

“Such bogus accusations are a brazen attempt to undermine and discredit our advocacy efforts and to hide the Pakistan military’s gross violence against the minority nations in Pakistan,” a WSC press release quotes its information secretary Rehman Kakepoto as saying.

The pres release says: “The WSC is a UK/USA-based human rights advocacy group working to create a better understanding in the international community about the persecuted status of Sindhis in Pakistan.

The WSC peacefully promotes human rights and highlights persecution of women and religious minorities.

“The WSC is registered as a non-profit organisation in England and Wales, and in California, USA. The WSC membership firmly believes in secular, democratic and non-violent means for creating civil society in Sindh and Pakistan. To promote its goals, the WSC undertakes peaceful initiatives and conflict resolution activities in Sindh.”

Despite its meager resources, the press release said, the WSC had effectively raised voice against efforts to prop up Islamic fundamentalists. “It has protested against persecution of secular-minded indigenous peoples of Sindh and Balochistan and exploitation of their natural resources to support excessive military spending.”

Major non-governmental organisations, news agencies and newspapers and journals, it said, had published numerous accounts of gross human rights violation by the government, including ‘disappearance of political activists and journalists, bombing of civilian populations in Balochistan, torture and extra-judicial killings.

“The WSC urges the international community to pressure Pakistan to respect fundamental human rights, including the national rights of Sindhis and Baloch to their own land and resources. Pakistan must restore democracy and respect the rights of its constituents. It must cease its support to Islamic militant groups, operating in or outside the country.”