The Government of Pakistan (read Pakistan Army) has been trying its best to suppress the release of the book titled Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy which was written by Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa. Since Friday, the proposed release date the military has pulled all stops to prevent the release of this all-exposing book going to the extent of pulling the book off the shelves and then harassing the author considerably.

This recent attempt to bully Free Speech has resulted in a world wide outcry and many people overwhelmingly have objected to the attempt by the Pakistan Army to silence this author and offer her my full physical and moral support in this regard.

STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR DR AYESHA SIDDIQA

Interference with the book launch in Islamabad on Friday of the distinguished Pakistani
scholar Dr Ayesha Siddiqa’s ‘Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy’ gives us grave concern.

Although Dr Siddiqa was able to use the office of a non-government organization after hotels refused to provide a venue, her phone service has subsequently been repeatedly disrupted as she gave interviews and she has told the Committee to Protect Journalists and others that she feels increasingly isolated and physically threatened. On Saturday, plainclothes “Special Branch” agents visited her home town Khanqah Sharif near Bahalwapur and questioned her employees about Dr. Siddiqa, her husband and property.

We urge the Pakistan government not to curb academic freedom. At a time when Pakistan faces an internal political crisis and a dangerous regional security situation the need for information and free expression of ideas only increases. Dr. Siddiqa has produced thorough research on important topics that can inform open debate by all Pakistanis, and indeed others around the world. She and her work should be defended, not threatened or suppressed.

The following academics and professionals around the world endorse this statement:

_{1.Hassan Abbas, Research Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, U.S.A.
2.Tahira Abdullah, researcher, development worker Islamabad, Pakistan
3.Syed Adeeb, journalist & President of the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), U.S.A.
4.Nasir Ahmad MD., FRCS.,FACs, Chief of Otolaryngology /Head & Neck Surgery, Hurley Medical Center, Flint, Michigan, U.S.A.
5.Salman Ahmad, UN Special Representative, New York, U.S.A.
6.Ishtiaq Ahmed, Professor, Department of Political Science, Stockholm University, Sweden
7.Imtiaz Ali, International Knight Fellow, Stanford University, U.S.A.
8.Kamran Asdar Ali, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Middle East Studies
and Asian Studies. University of Texas, Austin
9.Omar Ali MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatric Endocrinology, Medical College of Wisconsin, U.S.A.
10.Amin Ansari, CEO IT company, Lahore, Pakistan
11.Shaheryar Azhar, moderator, The Forum, 1175 New York, U.S.A.
12.Cassandra Balchin, Director, L.A.W.S. (Legal Awareness, Women & Society), U.K.
13.Akshay Bakaya, Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, Paris, France
14.Julia Bard, writer and editor, Member of the National Union of Journalists
London, U.K.
15.Amna Buttar, MD, President, Asian American Network Against Abuse of Human Rights, Middleton, WI, U.S.A.
16.Walter Crump, Commonwealth School, Boston, MA, U.S.A.
17.S.M.A. Ehtisham MD, Bath NY, U.S.A.
18.Drs Khalid Hameed Farooqi, journalist and researcher, Holland
19.Asim Ghani, journalist, Karachi, Pakistan
20.Frederic Grare, Visiting Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, U.S.A.
21.Shahla Haeri, Director, Women’s Studies Program & Associate Professor of Anthropology, Boston University, MA, U.S.A.
22.Zahra Shahid Hussain, educatioinst, political analyst, Karachi, U.S.A.
23.Zaffar Iqbal, MD & ANAA Board Member, Kingman AZ, U.S.A.
24.Ayesha Jalal, Professor of History, Tufts University, MA, U.S.A.
25.Ruchir Joshi, film maker and writer, New Delhi, India
26.Kalim Irfani, M.D., Pediatrics, Scarsdale, NY, U.S.A.
27.Dr Mahjabeen Islam, Medical Director, Comprehensive Addiction Services & Odyssey Hospice, Toledo, Ohio, U.S.A.
28.Mohmmad Arshad Khan, Society for Social Justice and Developement Pakistan, Sialkot
29.Waqas Khwaja, Associate Professor and Chair, English Department
Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA, U.S.A.
30.Zaheer A. Kidvai, Education Technology Consultant, Karachi, Pakistan
31.Syeda Masood, Kennedy School of Government ’08, Harvard University, U.S.A.
32.Andy McCord, freelance writer, past fellow of the Fulbright program in Pakistan and India, & of the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities, New York, U.S.A.
33.Anita Mehta, Fellow, The Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study, Harvard University, U.S.A.
34.Zubeida Mustafa, journalist, Karachi, Pakistan
35.Maniza Naqvi, author/development specialist, Washington DC, U.S.A.
36.Akbar Noman, Senior Fellow, Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Columbia University
New York, NY, U.S.A.
37.Philip Oldenburg, Independent Scholar, New York, U.S.A.
38.Emran Qureshi, Wertheim Fellow, Labor & Worklife Program at Harvard Law School, U.S.A.
39.Omar Qureshi, History Department, The Brearley School, New York, U.S.A.
40.Jamil Rashid, Professor: Social Sciences, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
41.Jeff Redding, Oscar M. Ruebhausen Fellow in Law, Yale Law School, New Haven, U.S.A.
42.David Rosenberg, teacher and writer, Member of the National Union of teachers
London, U.K.
43.Shahnaz Rouse, Professor of Sociology, Sarah Lawrence College, New York
44.Gita Sahgal, film maker and writer, U.K.
45.Beena Sarwar, journalist & Fellow, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University, U.S.A.
46.Malik Sarwar, Senior Vice President, Permal Group, NY, U.S.A.
47.Najmi Sarwar, Vice President Citibank, Executive Director Developments In Literacy, New York, U.S.A.
48.Sehba Sarwar, Founding Director, Voices Breaking Boundaries, Houston, U.S.A.
49.Mohsin Sayeed, journalist, Karachi, Pakistan
50.Shaheen Sehbai, media professional, Washington, DC, U.S.A.
51.Dr. Awab Alvi, Blogger & Dentist, Karachi, Pakistan}

If you would also like to join this action group then simply pen your name below, it would serve the cause best if you were to include your name, qualification and location - so that the statement of support is taken more seriously, but if you still choose to remain anonymous then again sign it anyway