Day Six in Pakistan: October 8 - Day after the Peace March

Continued from Days Four/Five in Pakistan: To the Tribal Areas! - JoAnne Lingle reporting on her trip.

10:00 am - Report back from the March

Our peace march made international headlines on CNN (see CNN video), the New York Times, the Washington Post, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and over 100 major news outlets as well as Pakistani newspapers, Dawn and The News.

Although we were disappointed to have been prevented by the Pakistani government from going into the Tribal Areas of Waziristan, we were heartened to hear the drone issue had been pushed forward by the Peace March. As one Pakistani woman said to us, "Your coming to Pakistan has touched so many hearts that you cannot even imagine! You were able to do what hundreds of millions of dollars spent by USAID in TV ads to win hearts and minds in Pakistan has failed to achieve!"

3:00 pm - Afternoon meeting at MEASAC Research Center in Rawalpindi with Pakistan with General Hamid Gul, a retired high ranking officer in the Pakistan Army, who served as the Director General of the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) during the brutal regime of the Dictator Zia al Haq (whose name means Light of the Truth).

The General said he was the darling of the Reagan Administration (and the CIA, my words) during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan but now he's on the terrorist list as an acknowledged member of banned militant organization Ummah Tameer-e-Nau.


According to Wikipedia, General Gul worked closely with the CIA during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan when he was the ISI chief. But, he became passionately anti-American after the United States turned its back on Afghanistan following the 1989 Soviet withdrawal, as the United States had promised to help build a prosperous Afghanistan.

As for the drone attacks, he said, "They must be stopped. Pakistanis have suffered for eight years from drones invading Pakistan's air space and sovereignty." He said the U.S. should offer compensation to the victims. He admitted, however, that the Pakistani government is complicit with the U.S. in not counting deaths of civilians by drones and not compensating the victims of drone attacks. He also complained about Blackwater contractors in Pakistan and said they should leave.

He feels the U.S. Embassy should not act as a military base and mentioned the CIA and 2,000 marines that are stationed at the Embassy with plans to expand the Embassy on an additional 84 acres, constructing it to have eight floors with three of the floors underground.

There was more the General talked about regarding U.S. foreign policy, most of which we agreed with; however, we were constantly reminded of his complicity with the brutal regime of the Dictator Zia al Haq, who ruled Pakistan 1977-1988.

General Hamid Gul ended by saying he fears that Pakistan may be heading the way of the Iranian Revolution.

5:00 pm - Around Islamabad - The rest of the day was spent visiting the Faisal Mosque and scouting for a place for tomorrow's fast.

Later that night, we heard of the first drone attack since we left Tank, our last stop on the Peace March. (See BBC story on U.S. drone attack on Tank.)

Tomorrow, the Fast: Dedicated to the Memory of the Children who have been killed by U.S. Drone Attacks.


Read the full story of JoAnne Lingle's participation in the Code Pink peace delegation to Pakistan.

For more photos see the Code Pink delegation photo site.

Day Two in Pakistan: October 4 Press Conference

Continued from Day 1 in Pakistan: Report from Code Pink Delegation - JoAnne Lingle reporting on her trip.

Day Two - Thursday, October 4, 2012

Morning meeting at Shahzad's office, Foundation for Fundamental Rights (FFR). We heard stories from Waziri survivors: Kareem Khan (a journalist for Al Jazeera and Pakistani newspapers), Mohammed Yusef, and Ejad Ahmed.

Kareen's house was totally destroyed when hit by a drone strike Dec. 31, 2009. Killed in the attack were Kareem's 16 year old son, Kareen's younger brother and a construction worker, both were government workers. The U.S. claimed that three militants were killed in the strike.

Kareem said, "We are not Taliban, Al Quaeda or terrorists. Our culture, education, everything is disturbed. Many have left for other cities. They should arrest the criminals, not kill seven civilians for every militant. When 40 elders were killed by drone strikes during a jirga (a decision making body) in Datta Khel, March 17, 2011, the fire lasted one week. To this day, U.S. officials insist that all those killed were militants."

"The U.S. Embassy will not allow us to talk with them. When one of us tried to go, the Pakistani army and police beat him in front of the Embassy."

Other testimony from the Waziris of those killed by drone attacks: a mother and her 10 month old baby killed when their home was struck; a father and his two sons, ages eight and ten; and, the headmaster of a school.

Kareem ended by thanking us for coming to listen to their stories. He said of the U.S., "The blood shed of Muslim people has no value."

At 3:30pm, we attended a Press Conference at the Marriott for Imran Khan and the Peace March scheduled for Sunday, October 7. Although there were hundreds in attendance, it appeared there were an equal number of journalists present as well.

Speakers included Shahzad Akbar, Code Pink's Medea Benjamin, Clive Stafford Smith of Reprieve, and finally, Imran Khan who ended his talk speaking to our delegation: "You've come to see their pain," and "You'll be surprised to see the welcome you'll get." He didn't tell us anything we didn't already know - we've seen their pain and the welcome we've received thus far has been beyond any and all expectations!

After the speakers finished, there were lots and lots of photo-ops, including groups photos of our delegation. After the photos, we cut loose and sang, inviting others to join in with "We shall not be moved" and other Civil Rights songs. When we began a line dance, even some of the WILFP and PTI women joined us!

A final meeting in the evening that was not on the day's schedule: (this, we discovered would become a regular occurrence during the coming week :-)

Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), a non-profit law firm providing support to those prisoners who are the most vulnerable in the criminal justice system, presented "Families of Bagram Detainees"

There are 50 Third Country Nationals at Bagram, 37 of which are Pakistani. We met with the family members of ten of them.

These prisoners have been held indefinitely without access to lawyers and without having been informed of the evidence against them. Some have been held for years, some abused, one arrested two years ago when he was fourteen. Another not permitted to speak to his family for six years and is believed to be in grievous physical and psychological condition.

As each family member told the story of their loved one, we were implored to contact the Obama administration which has attempted to legitimize Bagram Prison, claiming that in the last year conditions and procedures have been improved.

Finally, after a long day, heavy on our emotions but feeling grateful for the opportunity to listen to our brothers and sisters who willingly share their burdens and sorrows with us, we rest... looking forward to another day in Pakistan.

Blessings to all,
JoAnne
- writing from Istanbul

Continued at: Day Three in Pakistan: October 5, Preparing to March

Read the full story of JoAnne Lingle's participation in the Code Pink peace delegation to Pakistan.

For more photos see the Code Pink delegation photo site.