The US-based advocacy group, the Voice of Karachi (VoK) has welcomed the US Treasury Department's decision to blacklist Pakistan's "encounter specialist" Rao Anwar for his involvement in human rights abuses and has termed the decision a historic step in safeguarding human rights globally.
The advocacy group raises global awareness about the political and economic injustices that residents of urban Sindh, particularly Urdu-speaking Mohajirs, have been facing since the inception of Pakistan in 1947.
"On behalf of the entire team of Voice of Karachi as well as around 40 million residents of urban Sindh, I welcome the US Treasury Department's announcement about the callous butcher Rao Anwar and other individuals involved in abusing human rights globally," VOK chairman Nadeem Nusrat said a statement on Tuesday.
The Treasury Department, headed by Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in a statement, stressed that the "United States will not tolerate torture, kidnapping, sexual violence, murder or brutality against innocent civilians," as it is heartening to all those who have been facing systematic persecution in various parts of the world.
He noted that Karachi is among the worst affected areas where security officials like Rao Anwar have killed over 25,000 Mohajirs since 1992 in fake police encounters.
The number of victims who have suffered brutal physical torture in custody runs into over a million. Tens of thousands of the victims of unlawful arrests have paid several billion rupees in extortion to secure their release since 1992.
Meanwhile, those who could not afford to pay were killed in fake encounters, the chairman said.This illegal and inhuman business is still thriving in Karachi, after a fake F.I.A (Federal Investigation Agency) cell was uncovered just a day ago, where some corrupt law enforcement officials used to detain illegally held Karachi citizens to extort ransom, he added.
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Nusrat also added that the US Treasury Department's decision is a great triumph for the families of the victims of Rao Anwar and hoped that Pakistan would finally put "this bloodthirsty killer of hundreds of innocent civilians behind bars."
He also expressed hope that the names of more perpetrators will soon be added to the list, followed by steps to track and freeze their domestic and international assets.