Human rights / Disappeared persons

Pakistan: 1. When did the MQM join the coalition currently in power in Pakistan? 2. How many seats do the MQM have in the Sindh provincial government? 3. How many seats do the PML(N) have in the Sindh provincial government? 4. In 2004 the US Department of State reported that the MQM political leadership has renounced violence. When did it renounce violence? 5. Are there any reports of the activities of the MQM since it has denounced violence? 6. In 2004 the US Department of State reported that opposition parties charged that MQM kidnapped and tortured their activists during the March 28 local government by-elections and the May 12 provincial and national assembly by-elections in Karachi. Are further details available (eg what opposition parties' members were kidnapped)? 7. Did the PML(N) take part in the March 28 and May 12 elections? 8. What were the results in the local government by-elections in Karachi in March 28 and the May 12 provincial and national assembly by-elections? 9. Are there any other reports of the MQM kidnapping or torturing members of opposition political parties? 10. Is there any evidence to suggest that the present government and the MQM are working together to restrict political activity? 11. The PML(N) reportedly has 19 seats in the National Assembly. Are there any recent reports detailing any political activities of the PML(N) in particular in Karachi? 12. Research Response PAK16871 of July 2004 provides reports of action taken by the Musharraf government against political activists. Can you provide an update, covering the treatment of members of the PML(N) by the Musharraf government? 13. The MQM(H) reportedly claimed that security forces acting on behalf of the MQM routinely held its activists incommunicado. What is the relationship between the MQM and the Musharraf government? 14. Is there any evidence to suggest that the MQM and the Musharraf government are targeting members of political parties who oppose the present government? 5 September 2005 | Publisher: Australia: Refugee Review Tribunal | Document type: Query Responses

Pakistan: Confirmation from the MQM Secretariat in Middlesex, UK, that their 1997 publication entitled Dead or Alive: A Catalogue of "Disappearance" of 15 Mohajirs Aged Between 18 and 50 Years, from the State Custody in Pakistan is an exhaustive list 1 December 1997 | Publisher: Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada | Document type: Query Responses