[news] CKUT Radio: The Struggle Against Pakistani Deportations in Montreal

[Stefan Christoff]

CKUT Radio: The Struggle Against Pakistani Deportations in Montreal

On Friday June 25th a solidarity demonstration was held outside of the
Montreal offices of Citizenship & Immigration Canada in support of Shamim
Akhtar & her family's struggle against deportation from Canada. Shamim
Akhtar, her husband Naeem Khan and their four children continue to face
deportation admits a public & political struggle against their removal.

The Akhtar / Khan family was refused as refugee claimants in August 2002
despite the grave risk they face if deported to Pakistan, either directly
or indirectly through the United States. In Karachi, Pakistan the family
Shai Muslims were the direct targets of the Sunni Muslim militant
organization the Sipeh-e-Sahaba (SSP). Naeem was beaten and brutalized
several times, including once with bicycle chains, while Shamim and her
daughters were held at gun point in their homes.

This report features interviews conducted by CKUT Radio at the June 25th
solidarity rally in Montreal and a speech given by the family's eldest
daughter Sadaf Ali Khan at a workshop with the No One is Illegal Campaign
of Montreal.

For more than one year the Action Committee of Pakistani Refugees has been
fighting the deportation of hundreds of Pakistani refugees from Canada.
The highly public struggle against the deportation of the Akhtar / Khan
family's deportation provides a clear case of the broader struggle of
Montreal's Pakistani community and the urgent need for people from
throughout Canada and the world to lead their support and solidarity.

To listen / download the report visit:
http://radio.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/1987.php

To read more information about the Akhtar / Khan family and to get
involved with supporting their struggle against deportation visit:
http://www.cmaq.net/en/node.php?id=17488

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