The road is winding upwards in the mountanious northern Pakistan. The

passes here lie at 3- to 4000 meters, closed during winter. All of the

border region to Afghanistan is inaccessible and underdeveloped. In the

village of Kala Bagh, unemployment is high and mistrust of the politicians

and the government is strong. The ongoing military operations by the

Pakistani army against militant islamists in the borderregions to

Afghanistan have spred north to the Swat valley, which lies just on the

other side of the mountains. This has made the situation even worse for

the people here in Kala Bagh. There are no tourists coming here any more

and few other income possibilities exist.

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Khusal Rashid  old man

-People are dying hungry. We don't have any business and we don't own any

land. This government kills us.

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Orang Zaib

-The leaders afforded themselves to build nice houses but didn't give us

roads or water. They make the same promises every five years when

elections come.

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Pakistan is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, despite

several loudly outspoken promises from politicians to stop the misuse

which leads to dysfunct governments. Medical care and schools are almost

nonexisting here. Signs of mistrust among the population of president

Musharraf and Pakistans participation in the US "war on terror"are seen

along the roads.

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On the mountainside is written "Musharraf is haram", unclean according to

islam. But none of the main parties who is supposed to take part in the

elections is popular here.

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Hadj Mohammed Yakoub  old man

-We don't trust these politicians, they don't follow islam. We need to get

back the sharia system in full from the leaders. We are muslims and we are

religious.

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The so called "tribal areas" were early on selfgoverning princely states

with islamic laws which were kept well into the 1990's. The area is very

conservative. "Keep your daughters covered" is requested here. Even if

people vote, all will vote according to consensus.

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Mohammed Bashir

-We vote according to what the family decides, not on political party

programs.

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In Akora Khatak, along the heavily trafficked road to Peshawar in the

North Western Frontier Provinces, lies the Haqqani-madrassa, an islamic

religious school. There are more than 1000 madrassas in Pakistan with

different degrees of education, all out of governmental control. At

Haqqani education in english and computer programming is given but above

all in islamic studies. Several years are spent to memorize the Koran by

heart. Education is free and is often the only possibility when

governmental schools are well below standards.

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Last years the school more than doubled it's capacity. Over 2500 students

now receive education about islamic teachings and law. New bording houses

have been financed by funds, both from inside Pakistan as well as abroad.

The groving popularity is linked to the growing support of the islamic

parties in the frontier provincese where they now have the political

power.

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Akhbar Munir  religious student

-The society of Pakistan is better now because religious views and

religiousity among people have increased. A lot of people has been

educated in islamic laws and islamic virtues and islamic education. They

will make a good society and good social wills.

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The aim is to create a fully islamic Pakistan, governed by islamic law.,

but through democratic elections.

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Sami ulHaq, leader Haqqani islamic religious school (madrassa)

-If we want democracy we should participate in the elections because if we

boycott, the forces who work against our islamic mission and policies in

our country will benefit from that . They (Musharraf-friendly parties)

will get the majority in the parliament and we will face problems.

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The Haqqani-institute, founded by Sami ulHaq, has educated many of the top

leaders of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan. Links to the movement are

said to be close as well as the will to fight against US presence and

influence in the region.

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Sami ulHaq, leader Haqqani islamic religious school (madrassa)

-All policies of the gov are in line with the USA:s and pres Bush's

policies .Therefore the government is using the army to supress it's own

people. The army is supposed to guard the frontiers but it is beeing used

for attacks. Sometimes in Waziristan, sometimes in Swat, Bagour and other

tribal areas. People don't agree with these policies and this US initiated

"war on terror" so therefore they are resiting it.

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Since the army increased operations in the border areas, attacks against

security forces and terror acts against civilians, have increased

significantly.

The increased violence makes people worried, even the poor. In one of

Islambads slum areas, Shahid Lal lives with his family.

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Shahid Lal

-I don't need to say anything. You can see all by yourself how we live.

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The whole family lives in one room, He works as painter and earns daily

about five dollars.

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Shahid Lal

-Because of the bombs, they roads we use are closed so there is no good

business now. We are afraid, maybe there will be a bomb here.

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Perwin Kosar

-People are very scared, they cannot go to the markets.

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Protest demonstrations against the state of emergency are held almost

daily. Hundreds of political opponents, journalists and lawyers were

arrested and the Supreme court was suspended, a clear violation of the

constitution. Many view the crimes against humanity as the most severe in

the history of the country.

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The emergency rule wassaid to be motivated by the attacks of militant

islamists. Many regard this as a pretext to be able to reelect Musharraf

as president. But the main cause could have been something more serious,

to stop a court process which would shed light on Pakistan's gross

violations of human rights.

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Amina Masood, human rights activist

-They pick up innocent people and they just portray them as terrorists.

They never prove anything against them, they never produce them in any

court of law, they are illegally abducted people.

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According to human rights organisation Amnesty, well over 2000 persons

have disappeared after beeing caught by the Pakistani secret service in

line with the participation in the US "war on terror". The most of them

have been tortured in secret prisons to confess terrorist deeds and many

have been handed over to the USA. The dismissal of Supreme court members

now effectively stop evidence about human rights crimes to be public.

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Amina Masood, human rights activist

-There are 100% proofs they were picked up by the agencies because there

are so many people who have been released and they are telling us each and

every  detail, of the whereabouts of the detention center and how they

were picked up and by whom they were picked up. So this is 100% confirmed

and they do it on the dictates of USA. So we blame USA for this, for all

this human rights violations which we are undergoing since 9-11.

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Amina Masood's husband was caught more than two years ago by the agencies.

Since then she does not now where he is or if he is still alive.

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Amina Masood, human rights activist

-There is only one person in my mind, that is my husband all the time. All

the time I am waiting for him, day and night .

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Since then she had to alone run their computer training center with 40

employees. But Amina Masood still had strength left to start an

organisation for trying to pressure the Pakistani military regime to at

least admit the existence of the disappeared people.

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Amina Masood, human rights activist

-This is not war on terror, it is war on humanity. I would say in which

human rights have been violated for over so many years now and this thing

is growing more and more as the pressure is developing. USA is making our

own government to pick up our own people.

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Amina Masood works long days and at home their children needs care. She

hopes that her struggle will make it possible for a civilian government to

break the worsening trend of crimes against humanity Pakistan has seen for

the last years. And demands for a change are increasing.

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Amina Masood, human rights activist

-We hope to make a strong alliance of all these forces which are like

rising up these days in Pakistan and they are making.. asserting

themselves that no way, without judiciary no. We cannot compromise. No

party is acceptable to us who is not going to restore the judiciary, no

party is acceptable who is not going to restore the constitution, no party

is acceptable for us who is not going to let our loved ones be released.

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Abdul Nayyar is one of many now engaged in a fight for a free, civilian

rule. But he views the grip of the military and secret services over the

politicians too strong, especially in the situation today.

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Abdul Nayyar, human rights activist

-I doubt very much that the new government that comes under the present

dispensation and restrictive laws that we now have before the elections

will be in any position to change the situation.

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Amina Masood will still continue her struggle.

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Amina Masood, human rights activist

-Yes, as long as we are going to be united, until then I am going to

continue my fight because this is like your love, your life have been

taken away. How can you live without it?

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production:  Axiom Film&TV

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