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Safdar Sarki

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Safdar Sarki
Sarki in August 2008
Born(1965-12-25)December 25, 1965(age 58)
Pakistan
OccupationPhysician
Known forSindhinationalist movement activist

Safdar Sarki,(Sindhi:صفدر سرڪي) (born December 25, 1965) a Pakistani-American physician and American citizen, is a former chair of theWorld Sindhi Congressand Secretary General of theJeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz,an activist in theSindhinationalist movement, and a former detainee of thePakistanigovernment. As one of the many disappeared during the period of Gen.Pervez Musharraf's rule, the campaign to "find" him and get him released included prominent human rights organizations, includingAmnesty International,[1]and theAsian Human Rights Commissioncalling for his release, whileThe New York Timesand other news organizations reported that his health was in jeopardy because the Pakistani government refused to allow him necessary medical attention.

Kidnappings

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Sarki received his medical degree in Pakistan, but later moved toTexas,where he most recently operated a motel business. While his wife and children remain in Texas, Sarki traveled to Pakistan in early 2006. On February 24, 2006, he was seized and, according to eyewitnesses, beaten severely by members of the Pakistani security forces and held in secret for eighteen months. In October 2007,Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry,then Chief Justice of the Pakistani Supreme Court, compelled the Pakistani government to acknowledge that it had detained and was continuing to hold Sarki, and order him brought before the courts for further inquiry. Pakistani police then announced that Sarki was being held on charges relating to possession of illegal weapons. In early November 2007, a local judge ordered that Sarki be granted bail and released from custody.

Before either order could be carried out, Pakistani presidentPervez Musharrafremoved the Chief Justice from office and issued emergency decrees effectively ending the judicial inquiries into the matters of Sarki and of other detainees. The judge who granted Sarki bail was reportedly transferred to another district.

Sarki's attorneys reported that he was imprisoned inZhob,a remote area ofBaluchistan,and that his physical condition had substantially deteriorated, requiring exigent medical attention. On December 8, 2007, a court in Baluchistan directed jail authorities to transport Sarki to the provincial capital ofQuettafor diagnosis and treatment of an apparent degenerative optical condition, but the authorities defied the order. According to researchers forHuman Rights Watch,Sarki has apparently been tortured by Pakistani authorities during his detention.[2]

After several delays, a renewed hearing on Sarki's detention has been set for January 28, 2008. Both Sarki's lawyers and Ali Dayan Hasan, a senior Human RIghts Watch official, toldThe New York Timesthat they fear further judicial proceedings will be postponed until Sarki's continued physical deterioration ends in his death.

When asked about the case byThe New York Timesin January 2008, the Pakistani ambassador to the United States, Mahmud Ali Durrani, reported being familiar with the matter, but not in a position to respond to specific questions about it.

OnInternational Human Rights Day(December 10) in 2006, after his abduction, Sarki was awarded the annual Human Rights Community Award by the Washington, D.C.-basedUnited Nations Association of the National Capital Area(UNA-NCA). The organization cited Sarki's leadership of theJeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz,a secular political party advocating for the Sindhi population.

He was released on May 2, 2008,[3]after theSupreme Court of Pakistanordered the heads of Pakistan's Military Intelligence and theInter-Services Intelligence(ISI) to produce him or appear in court personally.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Download Documents"(PDF).Amnesty International.[dead link]
  2. ^Jane Perlez (January 18, 2008)."Texas Man Held in Pakistani Jail Said to Be Gravely Ill".The New York Times.RetrievedJanuary 20,2008.
  3. ^Dr Safdar Sarki on BBC Urdu Clip 01,archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-21,retrieved2021-09-01
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