NEW YORK, June 21: The US and Pakistani presidents should discuss democratic reforms and an end to rights abuses in Pakistan and reform of US laws and policies introduced after Sept 11 that infringe on the rights of non-US citizens, many of them Pakistanis, Human Rights Watch urged on Saturday.

On the eve of their June 24 Camp David summit, the organization sent separate letters to President George W. Bush and President Gen Pervez Musharraf, urging them to make human rights a priority on their agenda.

“President Bush is in a unique position to influence Gen Musharraf on Pakistan’s poor human rights record,” said Brad Adams, Asia Division Director of the Human Rights Watch. “And Gen Musharraf should question President Bush about illegal detentions at Guantanamo and post-9/11 immigration policies that have violated the rights of non-citizens.”

The HRW observed: “Since coming to power in 1999, Gen Musharraf has unilaterally imposed a series of far-reaching amendments to the Pakistan Constitution under the Legal Framework Order (LFO). These amendments dramatically strengthen the power of the presidency, formalize the role of the army in governance, and diminish the authority of elected representatives. Gen Musharraf has been unwilling to give parliament the right to validate or reject the LFO and has thereby created a real constitutional crisis in Pakistan.”

It noted that the opposition legislators had been tortured, harassed and persecuted for voicing their disagreement with the arbitrary changes to the Pakistani Constitution. Meanwhile, in contrast to the extensive constitutional tampering, various laws discriminatory to women had been left intact.

The organization also urged Gen Musharraf to raise with President Bush the legal status of those people, including as many as 100 Pakistanis, detained at Guantanamo Bay. It has called for the release of Taliban prisoners-of-war and others who have no connection to Al Qaeda and who have not been criminally charged. The HRW has also raised serious concerns about the proposed military commissions authorized to try them. “The Guantanamo detainees have disappeared into a black hole in the American legal system,” said Mr Adams. “The United States has an obligation to treat all detainees in accordance with international law, and Musharraf should tell President Bush that.”

President Bush has repeatedly said that the war against terrorism is a war of values, but has been unwilling to speak out in favour of those values with close anti-terror allies such as Gen Musharraf.

“By ignoring the clear mandates of international law, the United States invites every other country, including Pakistan, to do the same,” said Mr Adams.