Washington, DC: The World Sindhi Institute (WSI) is deeply shocked and saddened to learn that the kidnapped US reporter, Daniel Pearl, of the Wall Street Journal has been brutally murdered by his captors. An official handout issued on February 21 confirmed his death, following the receipt of videotape. This videotape, which was received by the Pakistani authorities in Karachi and confirmed by the US reportedly shows the ghastly details of the macabre murder.
WSI is concerned by Washington Post reports that link individuals and groups in Pakistan's intelligence apparatus to Mr. Pearl's kidnapping, and we encourage a thorough investigation by the FBI of such leads. Common knowledge points a finger to Pakistan's state agencies instructed by groups within the army and its intelligence wing (ISI) to have this action carried out because they feel strongly that Pakistan's sovereignty has been compromised by the American presence in Pakistan after September 11. WSI is also disturbed to learn about the coordinated manner in which various segments of Pakistan's military government collaborated to falsify information about the arrest of Ahmed Omar Saeed Shaikh for the benefit of General Musharraf's visit to the United States.
WSI is saddened to see that Sindh, the land of dancing peacocks and dervishes, and a Sufi homeland which served as a refuge for the persecuted in the Islamic world throughout history, has become a playground for the fanatics of the worst kind. WSI would like to emphasize that this has become possible only because the Sindhi people are subjugated on their land. The wealth and natural resources of Sindh have been appropriated over the last fifty years to sustain a parasitic establishment which thrives on international crisis. The reasons for the subjugation of Sindh are tied to those that have made Pakistan the hotbed of Islamic terrorism. The Pakistani State is run by a military that has descended from muslim sections of the various mercenary Punjab Regiments constructed by British colonialists. It is the imperialistic aspirations of this rogue military that orient Pakistan on the world map. It may remove its Islamic face in exchange for security guarantees by the United States, but it will undoubtedly find other ways to contribute to regional and international crises for its survival.
WSI would like to reiterate that the disease of military adventurism will not be cured until the parasitic military establishment of Pakistan is dismantled, and the peoples of Pakistan are allowed to freely choose their destinies.
The World Sindhi Institute condemns this barbaric act perpetrated on a journalist, and calls upon the authorities to bring the culprits to justice. WSI also extends condolences to the relatives and friends of Daniel Pearl, especially to his grieving young widow who is expecting their first child.
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