Benazir welcomes Human Rights Watch call for civilian rule

Former Premier Benazir Bhutto has welcomed Human Rights Watch call for the Bush administration to urge a return to civilian rule in Pakistan.
According to a report, the well-known Human Rights Watch asked US President George W. Bush to urge Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf to keep his promise to step down as army chief by the end of the year and fully restore civilian rule in Pakistan.
The two leaders are scheduled to meet on Wednesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Human Rights Watch also asked President General Musharraf to call on Bush to support an independent commission to investigate torture and other ill-treatment at US military detention facilities.
According to Human Rights Watch, since taking power in a 1999 coup, General Musharraf unilaterally imposed amendments to the Pakistani constitution dramatically strengthening the power of the presidency, formalising the role of the army in governance, and diminishing the authority of elected representatives.
In a statement on Tuesday the former Prime Minister said that the Human Rights Watch reflected the sentiments of the democratic forces when it said, "It's time for the Bush administration to recognise how its support for military rule in Pakistan flies in the face of its pledge to "foster" democracy in the Muslim world."
Human Rights Watch also pointed out that "the military is one of the main human rights abusers in the country. Under Musharraf, the military enjoys almost complete impunity for abuses, including well-documented cases of extra judicial killings, torture and arbitrary arrests.
Since General Musharraf came to power, the military has gained a toehold in virtually every state institution, blocking the possibility of significant reforms".
She said that one of the main reasons armed forces were kept out of politics in developed countries was to enhance their reputations so that the morale of the soldiers and officers would always be high. Involving the military in political affairs, she said, had enormous consequences on its image as well as its professionalism.
According to Human Rights Watch, "Even the police are afraid of investigating abuses committed by the military. Only a genuinely civilian government will be able to protect the human rights of Pakistani citizens."
Human Rights Watch urged the Bush administration to "insist that the Pakistani government take concrete measures to end its practice of using torture, coercion and imprisonment to stifle criticism and silence political opponents.
Opposition legislators have been tortured, harassed and persecuted for voicing their disagreement with President Musharraf's changes to the Pakistani constitution".
Human Rights Watch also called for cleansing the security forces from those who abuse human rights. It said, "Perpetrators of torture should be removed from Pakistan's security forces and prosecuted".