Activists Remember Ahmaud Arberry

Activists Remember Ahmaud Arberry

By Nadrat Siddique

Over the weekend, I did the "Run for Maud 5k," an event held both in person (in Atlanta, GA), and virtually. Being outside the ATL, I selected the virtual version. I'd just finished a grueling 10-hour work shift, plus four hours of responsibilities as a caregiver, and was on four hours of sleep. I wanted nothing better than to go home and crash. But, I just had to run for Maud.

We remember Ahmaud Arberry (May 8, 1994 - February 23, 2020)

Every murder of an innocent should shake us to the core. But, as a runner, this one particulularly grips my soul. Why? It was the murder of a young man in the prime of his life. (Ahmaud was just 25 when he was killed.)

He was engaged in my favorite activity in the whole world, running. Like me, running was his passion. In addition to running, he'd made his mark on the sports arena: He was a star football player at his high school.
On the day that Ahmaud was killed, he wasn't hurting anyone. He was just out for a jog, and made the "mistake" of stopping by a home which was under construction, likely to admire it.
The home, it seemed, was "on the wrong side of the railroad tracks."
White racists- three of them- chased him down in their gun-laden pickup trucks. One of them struck him with his truck before death. Another of them briefly fought the cornered young man, who tried at first to cross to the other side of the street to get away from the attackers, then realized he had no choice but to fight for his life.
Then, one or more of the White racist/terrorists opened fire on Ahmaud. He was hit three times, including in two different parts of the chest. He was still alive when the police arrived. They were very friendly with Ahmaud's assailants. It turned out that two of the three attackers had a "law enforcement" background.
Not surprisingly, the DA's office refused to issue any arrest warrants for two months, and only did so in response to massive protests, including by the New Black Panther Party, NAACP, and others.
This is terrorism directed at America's black population. It reminds me of the White Supremacist/Zionist terror directed against young Palestinian men in Gaza. They, too, can't walk or run down the streets in their own neighborhood without fear of assault, jailing, kidnapping, or death, by people who think they are more entitled to be there than anyone else.
The Run with Maud 5k is held every August to mark Ahmaud's birthday. It is organized by the Ahmaud Arberry Foundation, with proceeds going to create safe places for black boys to run. You can walk, run, or donate:
https://ahmaudarberyfoundation.org

The Ahmaud Arberry Foundation was set up by Wanda Cooper-Jones, Ahmaud's extremely courageous mother, who made it her aim to create safe spaces for Black boys to learn, to grow, and to run. May the Creator give her solace and strength as she celebrates her son's birthday knowing he will never return from another run.

#BlackLivesMatter #PalestinianLivesMatter #RunForMaud #FreePalestine

Carswell Vigil Calls Attention to Trauma Faced by Aafia and other Muslim Women Prisoners

By Nadrat Siddique

A vigil for political prisoner Dr. Aafia Siddiqui was held on February 25 outside FMC Carswell. It was called at very short notice by Nadrat Siddique, of the Women's Committee to Free Aafia. The action followed Siddique's completion of her 55th marathon at age 55. That morning she ran the 26.2 miles of the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth, TX, not far from FMC Carswell, where Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is caged, and came to the vigil directly from there, arriving half an hour late as a result of the prolonged exertion in the Texas heat.

Siddique said Aafia, like the huge numbers of Palestinian women prisoners being held by Israel, had been treated as a non-person, with no recognizable rights. She had been assaulted and raped on both sides of the Atlantic, and the governments and prison authorities involved were liable, since they had failed to protect a prisoner under their charge. Aafia should be released immediately, Siddique said.

El-Hajj Mauri Saalakhan, of the Aafia Foundation, was a guest speaker at the vigil. He has been coming to the Dallas-Fort Worth area for over a decade, mobilizing support for Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, whose case was initially completely ignored by most major Muslim organizations. He organized annual protests at the prison, sometimes in concert with a smattering of local Muslim groups. He said that Aafia's case was a litmus test for the entire Muslim Ummah, and that the dearth of a response to her prolonged suffering indicated that the Ummah had failed. He also called upon local imams in the DFW area to visit Aafia in prison, as it would uplift her spirits, and keep the authorities on notice that the community was alert to her suffering.

Photos from the protest are here.

#FreeAafiaSiddiqui #FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners #FMCCarswell

Notes from the Cowtown Marathon

I'm 55 years old, and today I ran my 55th marathon, the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth, Texas. It is also the 11th one I've dedicated to the cause of political prisoner Dr. Aafia Siddiqui.

She's a Pakistani woman academic serving an 86-year prison sentence in Fort Worth, TX. The evidence against her at trial was completely trumped up, and continuing to imprison her is one of the greatest crimes by the U.S. government against the Ummah.

 Since it was close to International Women's Day, I also dedicated my race to the cause of Palestinian women political prisoners. Israel currently holds 800+ Palestinian women without charge or trial. They are denied all family contact and access to counsel. Many of them have been raped, tortured, and beaten in detention. All of this is in clear violation of international rules and law, and Israel must be held accountable.

Personal notes:

 - My finish time was a miserable 4:21 (read 4 hrs 21 minutes). Still, it was (by my novice standards) not bad for an out-of-town marathon, particularly one done in my new-found role as caregiver (with the massive amounts of sleep lag that entails).

- I placed 3rd place in my division.

- The course was hilly, and traversed a good chunk of Fort Worth.

- Around Mile 8, a group of strong, fast Pakistani male runners caught up to me. I noticed them because they were talking incessantly in Urdu amongst themselves, about different marathons in Pakistan. They talked even as we were going up some of the steeper hills! One of them was Dallas-based physician Salman Khan. He was running the ultra-marathon (50k, or 31.06 miles), while pacing his friends. The other two had traveled all the way from Karachi for today's race.

- Of the two Pakistanis who had come from Karachi, one was running the ultra, while the other was doing the marathon. And these men had trained in Pakistan, with its very hot, humid climate, rolling blackouts (“load-shedding”), and adverse (in many areas) running conditions. So, they were not only fit, but had great dedication and discipline to get to this point.

- One of them later told me he was the nephew of Pasban Party chair Altaf Shakoor and lived in his house. (Pasban is a populist Pakistani political party, which advocates for workers rights and social justice. Some of its principals have been prominent in the Pakistan-based Aafia Movement.)

- So, Altaf’s nephew had seen me from time to time on his uncle’s Facebook page. Altaf himself was very active in the movement to free Aafia. Unfortunately, it didn’t appear that the nephew was involved in that, or any other social justice cause.

- I was thrilled to learn that Pakistan now hosted marathons, something that seemed like a pipe dream in the past. At the same time, it saddened me that well-trained, extremely fit Pakistani athletes like the ones I met at Cowtown, and others representing Pakistan on an official level failed to use their position to advocate for Aafia, or, it seemed, for any social justice issue. Perhaps the dual challenges of training in extremely adverse climate and getting the funding they needed to travel to far away competitions precluded them from anything but the actual race.

 - The temperature at Cowtown was 76 degrees for the last hour. That's hot for a marathon. And it didn't help that I had trained exclusively in the DC-Maryland area, where it is much cooler.

- Complete disclosure: I planned to wear my kaffiyah (Palestinian scarf) during the race, and even brought it to the start line for the purpose. But it was simply too hot. And I wimped. I put it on only afterwards.

- I was not feeling it today, and wanted dearly to quit midway through the race, but I had too many people waiting on me at the prison to vigil for Aafia afterwards. Once again the mental image of Aafia’s sweet, innocent face, swathed in her now famous yellow hijab, propelled me across the finish line.

 

#FreeAafiaSiddiqui #FreePalestine #FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners

Fifty-five at (Age) Fifty-Five: Cowtown Marathon for Aafia

I'm 55 years old, and today I ran my 55th marathon, the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth, Texas. It is also the 11th one I've dedicated to the cause of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui's freedom. Previously, I ran the following marathons for Aafia:

Washington DC Marathon (2016), Boston Marathon (2017), Rock N' Roll DC Marathon (2018), Chicago Marathon (2018), Boston Marathon (2019), Chicago Marathon (2019),
Fort Worth Marathon (2021), Chicago Marathon (2022), BMW Dallas Marathon (2022), and BMW Dallas Marathon (2023, unregistered).

I've been running since age 14, but it was only in the last decade or so that I galvanized the courage to run for the causes dear to my heart. I studied the heroic postures against White Supremacy by athletes like Tommy Smith and John Carlos (1968 Olympics). And those of Vincent Matthews and Wayne Collett (1972 Olympics). Also, I examined the actions of numerous Arab and Muslim athletes refusing to play against Israel. Like all of them, I believe it is the duty of athletes of conscience to use the sports arena to call attention to issues of social justice.

A marathon, 26.2 miles is not easy to run. And, there is no immediate gratification, either in the training, or on race day itself. Indeed it requires a mountain of sabr (patience) and perseverance, even when one doesn't feel good and would like nothing better than to stop running. Why, then, do I run for Aafia? I am convinced she is completely and utterly innocent. Her treatment at U.S. hands seems to be the worst dealt to any Muslim in U.S. custody.

And because it is written:
"And why should ye not fight in the cause of Allah and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated (and oppressed)?- Men, women, and children, whose cry is: "Our Lord! Rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will protect; and raise for us from thee one who will help!" (Qur'an, 4:75)

That is why I run for Aafia, a woman who should never gave been locked up in the first place.

#FreeAafiaSiddiqui #FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners #FMCCarswell

Letter to the Dallas Examiner (on Dr. Aafia Siddiqui)

Soon after running the BMW Dallas Marathon for Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, I wrote a letter to the DFW area's leading Black newspaper, the Dallas Examiner. I'd had no success getting letters about my actions for Dr. Siddiqui published in major newspapers in the area, but, I had high hopes that a Black newspaper might possess a slightly different consciousness. Weeks passed, and my hopes were dashed. Not only was the letter not published, but there was no acknowledgment of its receipt.

--Nadrat Siddique

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Dear Editor,

An important event occurred earlier this month, which seems to have escaped the notice of most Dallas news media. The sister of a well-known political prisoner was finally allowed to visit her. The prisoner is a Pakistani woman educator named Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. She is a very unusual prisoner, in that she is a PhD with degrees from MIT and Brandeis, and prior to being locked up, she was developing a novel educational methodology for children with autism and other learning disabilities.

She was on the brink of presenting her ideas to appropriate bodies in Pakistan, when she was kidnapped by security forces from Karachi, She was shot in the abdomen, repeatedly raped and tortured in secret prisons in Afghanistan (then being run as part of the U.S. “War on Terror”), and ultimately brought to the U.S. for trial. Although she was convicted by a New York court in 2010, there is hard forensic evidence that she could not have committed the crime of which she was accused.

The unusual event I mention is the Texas visit of Aafia’s elder sister, Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui. Fowzia, is a Harvard-educated physician with a focus on neurology and epilepsy, and is based out of Karachi, Pakistan. She traveled the 8,300 miles from there, along with Pakistani Senator Talha Mahmood and U.K.-based Aafia Attorney Clive Stafford-Smith, to see her sister, only to be told by the prison, FMC Carswell, that they couldn’t locate the key for the visitation cell! So, the meeting was canceled for that day, and Fowzia left the prison distraught.

The following day, the prison allowed the sisters to meet, but, the meeting was much shorter than agreed upon by prison authorities, and despite the promise of a “social visit,” no contact was allowed between the sisters.

A day later, Attorney Clive Stafford-Smith met with Aafia. Aafia told him she had been raped while at FMC Carswell! As the visit came to an end, Aafia was crying for Clive not to leave, as she was deadly afraid to return to her cell for more abuse.

In and of themselves, her allegations are not surprising, given the multitude of lawsuits brought by female inmates alleging sexual assault and rape against the prison. In fact, the allegations were so widespread that FMC Carswell was included in a 2022 U.S. Senate investigation on abuse of female inmates at FBOP facilities. But, it is gut wrenching for Aafia’s ultra-conservative, close knit family of academics that not only prison authorities present  numerous road blocks to their visits, which are guaranteed under FBOP regulations, but that their sister, after already being raped in Third World prisons, is once again undergoing such “Cruel and Unusual” punishment at a U.S. prison hospital.

As a Pakistani multi-marathoner and political prisoner advocate, I ran the BMW Dallas Marathon on December 10 to call attention to Aafia’s case. I wore a tee which said, “Free Dr. Aafia Siddiqui!” It was my 54^th marathon all told, and my tenth for Aafia. I truly hope people in the Dallas area will think about the horrors being visited upon this innocent woman in the midst of their Christmas merry making. Is this what Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) would have wanted?

Sincerely,

Nadrat Siddique

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Nadrat Siddique is a Pakistani woman marathoner based out of the Washington, DC area. She is a member of the Jericho Movement, which advocates for political prisoners.

September 23: A Day of Infamy

By Nadrat Siddique

 

Pakistani scientist Dr. Aafia Siddiqui has been held longer than Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was in Russia's Gulag. She has been imprisoned longer than Russian physicist Andrei Sakharov was in (internal) exile. She has been held about the same length of time as well-known Chinese physician and pro-democracy leader Wang Bingzhang. In fact, like Aafia, Bingzhang was abducted in one country, then taken to another for a kangaroo court trial, convicted, and effectively buried by his captors.

 

In Bingzhang's case, the U.S. registered vociferous protests against the Chinese government. And yet, the U.S. continues to allow the torture and detention of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui.

 

Not one person died or was injured in the incident in Ghazni, Afghanistan, in which Aafia was charged. In fact, she should never have been in Afghanistan in the first place. Aafia was kidnapped by Pakistani and U.S. intelligence services, and forcibly taken there from Pakistan- in violation of international law. In other words, if international rules and norms had not been trashed by the security agencies in question, the (concocted) incident for which Aafia was charged would not have arisen.

 

And yet, on September 23, 2010, the MIT alum was sentenced to 86 years in prison. A brilliant scholar, with innovative ideas to uplift Pakistan's education system, she continues to languish at FMC Carswell, where other political prisoners, eg Lynne Stewart and Reality Winner, have also been held.

 

Does the U.S. have no shame in continuing to hold this innocent woman scientist/ educator, all the while protesting the detention of scientists, writers and academics in other countries? Today on this day of infamy, September 23, we say "Free Aafia Siddiqui now! Free all political prisoners!"

 

#FreeAafiaSiddiqui #BlackDayforPakistan #DrAafiaSiddiqui #FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners

Essence of Running: the DC Gaza 5k

By Nadrat Siddique

So, this morning I ran the Gaza 5k in Washington DC's Rock Creek Park. The race starts on the grounds of the iconic Carter Barron Theatre, and is one of my favorite races. I run with some regularity from the Carter Barron, and it was beautiful to see it nearly over run by Palestinians in kaffiyahs, some of them carrying Palestinian flags. (Usually I encounter mostly Black and Latino youth playing soccer and such, in itself a beautiful sight.)

The Gaza 5k is organized by UNRWA, and benefits Palestinian refugees. The DC version of the race (which is also held in other cities) had turned virtual due to COVID-19, and I'd missed it terribly. This was the first year the live event was rekindled.

In Gaza, Palestinians are crammed into refugee camps with an extremely high population density. These camps frequently lack basic resources, such as electricity and running water, which "Israel," as the occupying power, controls. "Israel" then conducts aerial bombardment of these heavily populated areas, under the pretext that Hamas fighters are "hiding" there. (Where else would they be? They live there.)

As a result, much of the population of Gaza has been terrorized, displaced, and traumatized. It would be difficult to find someone there who DOES NOT have PTSD and other serious mental health conditions. Palestinian children are the worst afflicted. UNRWA's facilities in Gaza provide schooling, mental health care, and other badly needed services to Gazans.

At the Gaza 5k, I was thrilled to see a great turnout, with a youthful, energetic vibe. The race seems to get larger every year. The majority of attendees appeared to be of Palestinian heritage, with a smaller number of allies (White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian) present. Race participants ran and walked a 3.1 mile course which was largely downhill on the outbound. Unfortunately, since the race route returns the same way, there is a huge climb on the way back. During one of the last in-person renditions of the Gaza 5k (before COVID), I remembered my father, the editor of the Muslim newspaper "New Trend" and a huge supporter of Palestine, bravely walking the course with his wife. In his late 70s at the time, he completed the course, but not without some effort.

PERSONAL NOTES: Today as I ran, I was still recovering from an annoying bug I'd picked up during a recent trip to Florida to attend a funeral for a member of my extended family. But I would not miss my favorite race for anything. I thought about the Palestinians who, when faced with much more serious ailments, are deprived of all medications, due to the "Israeli" blockade of Gaza. That, from "the only democracy in the Middle East." My cold (or whatever it was) quickly became a non-issue.

I hadn't been training at all, since Ramadan had ended not so long ago (I relax my training during the Holy Month, running only about 25 miles per week, instead of 40), almost immediately followed by the death in my extended family. I even registered very belatedly for the Gaza 5k, totally unlike me. In any event, when I finally did register, it was as a member of Team Jamaat Al-Muslimeen. And our team, in a very short time (less than a week), raised over $400.00 for UNRWA's work in Gaza.

As I ran outbound, I was intimidated by the huge hill I knew I'd face on the inbound. I hoped rather unrealistically that the race organizers had tweaked the route to avoid runners having to tackle that hill (around Mile 2).

They had not. I tried to concentrate on my breathing and form, which helped somewhat. Two or three groups of young, fast Arab men passed me, which made me feel even slower than my (approximately) 8:30 min/mile pace. Then, a young, very fit looking Black woman caught up to me. For some reason, she told me right then and there (shortly before we were about to encounter the monster hill) that "I look beautiful." I thanked her, saying "You do, too," and complimented her on her pace. She ran with me for a short while, before overtaking me. I tried to keep her in my sights, which helped my time. (She later told me I helped her time, as she'd spotted me from afar, and was trying to catch up to me.) We both survived the Hill.

A while later, when the awards ceremony was held, I was surprised to hear my name called. I was #1 in my division, with a finish time of 26:08 (8:25 min/mile pace). Later, looking at the detailed race results, I realized I was #9 out of 334 total women participating in the race. Of the 8 women who finished before me, all were in their 20s and 30s, except an 8-year old and an 18-year old. (I'm now 54.) Amusingly, the 8-year old beat me by two seconds. Alhamdulillah.

The lesson in all this? One need not use age as an excuse for inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle, which will necessarily lead to premature aging. If you fall down (metaphorically), you need not stay down. If you're a Muslim, then the Rasool (SAW) is your example. That includes in the realm of his eating habits (very little meat; instead: grains, dates, nuts, seeds, fruit, etc), and very active life style (he personally participated in running, horse back riding, etc and engaged in military campaigns, which, at the time, were very physical, into his 60s). From Gaza to New York, oppression is pervasive, and we cannot afford to be physically (or mentally) lazy or sedentary.

#Gaza5k #FreePalestine #FreeGaza
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It's not to late to donate to the Gaza 5k. You can do that here:
https://unrwausa-2023-dc-gaza-5k.funraise.org/fundraiser/nadrat-siddique

Jahiliyya in a Major Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) Race

Last Sunday, I participated in the MD/DC RRCA 10 Mile Club Challenge, the premier race between competing running clubs in the DMV. I represented my club, the Howard County Striders (HCS). The HCS is a rather snotty, elitist group of runners from one of the wealthiest counties in the DMV, and I sometimes wonder what the heck a rabble rouser like me is doing in their midst.

In any event, the HCS were the hosts of the competition, and it was on their turf. The race is very hilly, and the  temperature, as usual, was cold.  Because of the distance (10 miles), the hills, and the stringent time limit, nearly all the participants are strong, accomplished runners. So, running this race necessarily entails competing against the best in the area.

I completed the race in 1:25 (read "one hr 25 min"). It was my third time doing it, and, time-wise, my finish was mid range between my other two attempts. But that was just my individual finish time, which I also clocked using my watch.

The bigger question- and the point of the competition, which is what differentiates it from other races- was: How did all the teams do against each other, and how did individual runners do compared to other members of their team? None of this information was available for days.

The HCS usually organizes all its races to a "t." No detail is overlooked. This year, for some reason, the team results were taking unusually long to be posted. The HCS website said that complete race results (including how each team ranked) for the event would be posted within 24 hours of the event. So, for a Sunday morning race, that meant results had to be posted by Monday morning.

I looked on Monday, and the web announcement had been altered to say the results would be posted within 48 hours of the event. That meant they would be posted Tuesday.

On Tuesday, I checked the website again, bemused as to why it was taking inordinately long for the results to be posted. There was nothing.

On Wednesday, a new message appeared in bright red lettering on the HCS website.. It said: "Official results posting will be delayed due to processing and re-scoring against gender changes and DQs." [DQs are disqualifications.]

So, people changing their gender was the primary reason for the delay in results?!! I was blown away.

On Friday morning, the team results were finally posted. Our team, for being the host team, did not do well. There are 8 categories of team competition, based on age and gender (per cross country rules).

We did well in only three of those: In the Male Grandmasters (50 and over males) category, we took the top spot. In both the Female Overall, as well as the Female Masters (40 - 49 females) category, we took second place.

But, in all of the younger age groups, we did rather poorly. And in general, the HCS men did much more poorly than the women (compared to their counter parts from other running clubs).

One bit of hopeful news for me personally: I was the top finisher for my team in my division (Female Grandmasters). Other than a sister named Aaliyah El-Amin from the Prince Georges Running Club (finish time 1:33), who is quite an accomplished runner, mine was one of the few Muslim names in the roster. Alhamdulillah for all things.

Farheen Siddiqui Runs for Aafia at the Cowtown Running Festival

By Nadrat Siddique

I am incredibly proud of my young Pakistani-American sister-friend Farheen Siddiqui. In December, she and I, along with some of her family members, participated in the BMW Dallas Marathon Festival, a gargantuan athletic event which brings out tens of thousands each year. At that event, Farheen and I wore our respective shirts calling attention to the unjust imprisonment of Pakistai female scientist Dr. Aafia Siddiqui.

This time, Farheen ran/walked the 10k which is part of the Cowtown Running Festival in Fort Worth, TX, completely on her own, to call for Aafia's freedom. A few weeks before the event, she had ordered a hoodie with a graphic calling for Aafia's freedom. Unfortunately, it arrived devoid of the desired logo. Undeterred and determined to run for Aafia's freedom, Farheen made her own graphic and attached it to her sweatshirt. She then ran and walked the 6.2 miles in the chilly 40 degree temps, drawing questions and interested looks from fellow runners.

Farheen did that in what is a very "red state," with an open carry law, and an abundance of anti-Islam bigotry. If you truly follow the Islamic maxim of "Innal hokmo illah lillah" (Authority belongs to Allah alone), then you are unafraid. And there is always something you can do to stand up for justice, and against injustice. Ma'ashallah! Congratulations to Farheen!

(Fort Worth, where Farheen did her most recent race, is very near where Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is serving her 86-year prison term on bogus charges. Dallas, where Farheen and I ran in December, is the much larger, neighboring city.)

#FreeAafiaSiddiqui #FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners #cowtownmarathon

On the Passing of Pervez Musharraf

By Nadrat Siddique

The former dictator of my country, Pervez Musharraf is dead. Among his other ignominies,

- Musharraf turned a Muslim woman scientist, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, over to the CIA, to be raped, tortured, and brutalized, her children forcibly removed from her and separately imprisoned. She was ultimately sentenced to 86 years in prison for a crime she could not have committed;

- Musharraf turned over the Islamabad-based Taliban ambassador, Mullah Abdus Salaam Zaeef, never mind his diplomatic status, to the U.S. The soft spoken, scholarly ambassador was then sent to the U.S. torture center at Guantanamo Bay and held for 4½ years before being released. He was never charged nor tried.

- During the early years of the WOT ("War on Terror"), Musharraf allowed the U.S. to put out a dragnet to seize all manner of innocents from Pakistani soil. These men and boys, including some as young as 14, were sent to secret prisons, where they endured horrific torture. Many of these were sent on to the U.S. torture center at Guantanamo Bay, where they were held for indefinite periods, without charge or trial, deprived of counsel.

- Post 9-11, Musharraf subverted Pakistan's economy to serve the U.S. WOT.

- Musharraf ordered the military assault and siege of Lal Masjid, a major mosque in Islamabad, which he perceived to be too hard line. He ordered the murder of its imam. The imam's mother and numerous other members of the mosque were also killed in the assault.

- In conjunction with the Lal Masjid assault, Musharraf ordered the Pakistan Army to attack Jamia Hafsa, an Islamic seminary for young Muslim women. Jamia Hafsa was contiguous to, and associated with Lal Masjid. Large numbers of Jamia Hafsa students were detained. Many of these "disappeared" indefinitely.

- Musharraf authorized the Pakistan Military to conduct the aerial bombardment of hundreds of mosques in the Northwestern frontier of Pakistan, setting off what became known as the Waziristan War.

- Musharraf authorized unfettered use of Pakistani air space by the U.S., allowing the latter to conduct thousands of drone strikes across the Pakistani frontier, as well as in Afghanistan. These resulted in the deaths of thousands of Pakistani and Afghan civilian deaths.

I, for one, will not be mourning Pervez Musharraf. He can most charitably be characterized as an imperialist sycophant and king of munafiqs. The pain of his medical treatment for amyloidosis will pale in comparison to what Allah (AWJ) has in store for this war criminal. Inshallah.

#FreeAafiaSiddiqui #PervezMusharraf #PakistanZindabad