SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2308ment of interfering in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, was deported against hiswill to Afghanistan on June 21. However, he was subsequently permitted to reenterPakistan. The Government cooperated with the UNHCR to support voluntary repatriationsto rural areas of Afghanistan considered to be safe. In 1999 approximately92,000 Afghans returned to their home country. Afghan refugees have limited accessto legal protection and depend on the UNHCR and group leaders to resolve disputesamong themselves and with Pakistanis. In the past, police sometimes attempted toprevent Afghan nationals from entering cities and there were reports that somehave been forced back into refugee camps. During the year, there were reports thatthe Government closed some Afghan schools and cracked down on unlicensed medicalpractitioners that treat mostly Afghans.Most able-bodied male refugees have found at least intermittent employment;however, they are not covered by local labor laws. NGO’s and private entities providedwomen and girls with better education and health care than is available inAfghanistan. However, Afghan women working for NGO’s were targets for occasionalharassment and violence by conservatives and Taliban sympathizers.Several prominent Afghans also reportedly have been the targets of harassmentand violence from Taliban supporters and conservatives in the refugee community.According to newspaper reports, at least 10 Afghans were killed during the year,reportedly for their political views (see Section 1.a.). On June 1, unknown gunmeninjured Mohammad Enam Wak at his home in Peshawar (see Section 1.c.). Wakwrote a book calling for a federal system of government in Afghanistan. In July anAfghan leader, Haji Jan Mohammad, whose name reportedly appeared on a Talibanhit list, was killed by unknown assailants (see Section 1.a.). Police investigations ofthese Afghan killings were perfunctory at best; there were no arrests or convictionsin any case.The resettlement of Biharis continued to be a contentious issue. The Biharis areUrdu speakers from the Indian state of Bihar who went to East Pakistan—nowBangladesh—at the time of partition in 1947. When Bangladesh became independentin 1971, the Biharis sought resettlement in Pakistan. However, approximately250,000 Biharis remain in refugee camps in Bangladesh. While the Mohajircommunity—descendants of Muslims who immigrated to Pakistan from India afterpartition—supports their resettlement, the Sindhi community opposes it. In 1993the Government flew 342 Biharis to the country and placed them in temporaryhousing in central Punjab. No further resettlement has occurred.Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their GovernmentCitizens continued to be denied their right to choose or change their governmentpeacefully. After the imposition of a military government in October 1999, the Constitutionand representative bodies, including the National Assembly, the Senate,and the provincial assemblies, were suspended indefinitely. General Musharraf appointednew members to the Cabinet, as well as new governors to all four provinces.The Musharraf Government pledged to return the country to a democracy; however,General Musharraf stressed his priority to build first a strong economic andpolitical foundation to avert another bout of ‘‘sham’’ democracy. General Musharrafpledged to abide by a May 12 Supreme Court ruling that mandates that nationalelections be held no later than 90 days after October 12, 2002. The Government establishedthe National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) to develop political reformsand a framework for elections. It is unclear whether or not the NRB has the institutionalcapacity to meet its mandate within the established deadline.Citizens’ right to change their government also was restricted by the executive’sstrong influence on the judiciary. On January 25, General Musharraf ordered all ofthe justices in the country to swear to uphold his PCO (see Section 1.e.).The Musharraf regime did not ban political parties, and the parties active priorto the coup, including the Pakistan Muslim League (which was led by former PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif) continued their activities. However, the Government arrestedhundreds of persons in opposition political parties during the year (see Sections1.d. and 2.b.). On March 15, General Musharraf issued an ordinance banningall political gatherings held outdoors (see Section 2.b.). The National AccountabilityOrdinance prohibits those convicted of corruption under the NAB from holding politicaloffice for 21 years (see Section 1.d.). On August 11, the Government amendedthe Political Parties Act to automatically disqualify anyone with a court convictionfrom holding party office. Legal observers expressed concern over the concentrationof power in the NAB, the fact that NAB chairmen have all been members of themilitary, and the presumption of guilt in accountability cases.National elections for national and provincial assemblies last were held in February1997. Election observers concluded that the elections generally were free andVerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00152 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.036 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1