This is in response to the news report “Missing persons’ case takes a dramatic turn” by Umer Cheema (April 
. I am the leading petitioner for the cases of missing persons, including that of my husband, Masood Ahmed Janjua (an educationist and famous businessman of Rawalpindi), in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
I wanted to draw your attention towards another angle of this high-profile case being heard in the Supreme Court these days. I feel like giving my version and conveying my respect for all the valuable institutions of my beloved country. We belong to a family of educated, cultured and most patriotic individuals who have served in the army and the air force. Although I have been seeking justice and continuing my dignified struggle for the release of my husband desperately on all possible platforms it was never my intention to hold anyone accountable or disgrace any of my country’s valuable institutions — most particularly the forces that are the lifeline of Pakistan and have rendered great sacrifices for the nation.
As the more important half of the fact remains hidden I believe that it is my obligation to throw light on it. Recently, renowned lawyers of the UK, Clive Stafford Smith and Asim Qureshi, visited Pakistan. They addressed a press conference here and referred to the proof of CIA’s involvement in the illegal abduction and continuous human rights violations of Masood Janjua. A deadline was given to the US ambassador (March 12) to disclose CIA’s involvement, failing which a lawsuit would be filed in the US. I have also handed these documents as well as the CD of the proof to the JIT constituted under the orders of the Supreme Court for investigations into Masood’s case. The organisation of these lawyers, i.e. Reprieve, is going to file a habeas corpus petition against the government of the US for the recovery of Masood Janjua. Therefore, I would say forcefully that since 9/11 our institutions have been pressurised to take unconstitutional measures, follow illegal procedures and indulge in human rights violations — all carried out in the name of the war on terror.
I would rather blame the US for the illegal kidnapping of my husband and for the miseries, agonies and sufferings inflicted upon the entire family of my husband, me, three vulnerable teenage kids and aging parents-in-law on their deathbed since July 30, 2005. Since the pressure is mounting on the US government, making it accountable in front of its own public for running notorious prisons like Bagram and Guantanamo, it is better to undo the barbaric acts of illegal abduction and torture by letting these detainees go. Only measures such as the release of all detainees would save the US from accountability and international embarrassment it is facing today.
Amina Masood |Islamabad
Related posts:
Posted in 
Tags: 
