We write to you from the U.S. House of Representatives regarding a concern brought to the attention of Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali during his most recent visit to Washington, DC, regarding the Sindh Province of Pakistan. There is a very active community of Sindhis in the United States who have communicated their grave concerns to us about the treatment of their people in Pakistan.
Of greatest and deepest distress for the Sindhis are the Indus River constructions. The most recent plans for the building of the Thal Canal and Kalabagh Dam threaten the environmental security and the cultural and economic stability of the Sindh province. Already suffering from poverty and extreme drought, the Sindhi community would be greatly challenged if the river constructions continue.
It appears to us that the Pakistani government is ignoring the Sindhis' opposition to the river constructions, expressed through the Sindh Assembly's unanimous vote against them, as well as in daily street protests in Sindh. The government's reluctance to address these concerns further marginalizes the Sindhis living in Pakistan.
More than 50% of the people living in the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan are living under the poverty level. The recent report released by the Asian Development Bank asserts that the poverty rates in both Sindh and Balochistan are twice as high as the poverty rates in the other provinces of Pakistan. Such an economic imbalance threatens the integrity of Pakistan. We hope that you will do everything in your power to work quickly to restore the Sindhis' confidence in the central government.
Finally, we wish to address the situation concerning human rights activist Kirshan Sharma who was arrested by Pakistan's Federal Investigation Unit on March 21, 2003. We were grateful and relieved to learn that Mr. Sharma was released from detention on November 12, 2003. However, the Sindhi community believes that Mr. Sharma was unfairly arrested, and was imprisoned without due process. We are concerned about his ongoing welfare, and the Sindhi community views Mr. Sharma's treatment as illustrative of their own ongoing persecution by the federal government.
We ask that you agree to join us in a dialogue addressing these and other issues brought to our attention by the Sindhi community in the United States.
Congressman Joseph Crowley (NY-D)
Congressman James Greenwood (PA-R)
Congressman Jay Inslee (WA-D)
Congressman Steve Israel (NY-D)
Congressman Tom Lantos (CA-D; Co-Chair, Human Rights Caucus)
Congresswoman Jackson Lee (TX-D)
Congressman Jim McDermott (WA-D)
Congressman Kendrick Meek (FL-D)
Congressman Donald Payne (NJ-D)
Congressman Tom Tancredo (CO-R)
Congressman John Tierney (MA-D)