Gulf News
November 7, 2007
Group supporting Pakistani activists held
By Pamela Raghunath, Correspondent
Published: November 06, 2007, 00:30
Mumbai: A group of Mumbaikars were arrested yesterday for "expressing solidarity" with the people of Pakistan.
Around 60 members of the Pakistan-India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) gathered outside the Churchgate rail terminus in Mumbai.
The group - wearing black bands and carrying placards - were holding a silent demonstration in front of thousands of commuters and a huge media presence when over 50 police officers started detaining them.
"The police told us no one was allowed to hold a demonstration at the Churchgate station but this is ridiculous because it was a peaceful protest," said Neera Adarkar, an architect and member of the Forum, after being arrested and taken to Azad Maidan police station.
Earlier, Adarkar told Gulf News how efforts to forge a relationship between India and Pakistan on a people-to-people level would now come to a standstill.
"We were doing excellent work through different exchange programmes. But we are now deeply concerned about what is happening in Pakistan," she said.
"On Sunday, I spoke to a friend who told me she had taken part in a demonstration in Islamabad where police swooped to arrest all the lawyers present."
A press statement released by Tapan Bose, General Secretary of The National Committee of the PIPFPD said, "We call on all governments and particularly the people of every nation to condemn this brutal usurpation of the basic human rights of the people of Pakistan.
"We urge the military regime in Pakistan be suspended from every international forum including the UN and the Commonwealth. "Our joint efforts for creating a sustainable democracy based on free participation of the people in the affairs of governance has been made even more difficult."
