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For Immediate Release
April, 29 2009, 02:22pm EDT
Contact:
AIUSA media office,Email:,media@aiusa.org,Phone: 202-544-0200 x302
Update on Displacement and Civilian Casualties in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province from Amnesty International
WASHINGTON
The Pakistan government must
begin to provide assistance to at least 65,000 civilians who have fled
fighting between Pakistani Taliban and government forces in Lower Dir district
of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Amnesty International said
today.
The need for systematic assistance to the
displaced population is all the greater as Amnesty International is now
observing civilians beginning to stream out of neighboring Buner district,
where government forces have launched attacks using artillery and aerial
bombardment.
"There is no sign that the central Pakistan
government has prepared for the exodus of civilians," said Sam Zarifi,
Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific director. "As the military operations
spread, most likely to Swat next, the government has to ensure that the
fleeing civilians have adequate food, shelter, and health care."
The Pakistani NGO Al Khidmat told Amnesty
International in Timergara, the main town in Lower Dir, that it had registered
at least 65,000 displaced people. As the operations apparently ended after
four days, Al Khidmat said it was the only group assisting the displaced
population, without any assistance from the central government.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani Taliban issued a
written warning to journalists in Timergara, Dir, threatening them if they
persisted in presenting material against the Taliban and the Nizam-e Adl
regulation that gave the Taliban administrative control over a wide swath
of NWFP. The Pakistani Taliban warned journalists would be tried in the
Taliban's Sharia courts and called the press club in Timergara today,
threatening to send a car full of explosives.
"The Taliban's warning against journalist
shows again their absolute disdain for human rights," Zarifi said. "The
Taliban have consistently jeopardized the well-being of the people living
under their control."
Update on the situation in Maidan tehseel
(subdistrict) Lower Dir:
The District Hospital in Timergara confirmed
a total of 13 civilians killed during the fighting, including eight civilians
killed today: two women, a boy, and five men (two of them primary school
teachers).
Eyewitnesses told Amnesty International in
Timergara that at least 28-30 houses had been completely destroyed while
dozens of houses have been partially damaged.
Civilians told Amnesty International that
security forces had warned civilians to evacuate their villages during
the operations. Locals reported use of helicopter gunships and heavy artillery
again today, though the fighting seemed to have ended by day's end.
On Wednesday, most businesses in Timergara
observed a general strike and several towns in Lower Dir witnessed demonstrations
against the army operations. The demonstrations were attended by local
workers and leaders of most of Pakistan's major parties.
Update from Buner:
Amnesty International observed hundreds of
civilians leaving Buner district as the Pakistani army and Frontier Corps
units launched operations around 4 p.m. Wednesday (in U.S. EDT, 6 p.m.
on Tuesday, April 28), using jet fighters and helicopter gunships. Forces
were moved from Mardan through the area known as Bakhshali, according to
our sources in Buner.
Thousands of people are arriving in adjacent
Sawabi and Mardan districts. Security forces have
asked the people fleeing the area not to
move in small groups as they might get hit because the Taliban are also
moving in small groups. Curfew has been announced in all the main towns
on the main road starting from Shehbaz Garaha till Ambela, Buner. Those
who are leaving Buner for safer places are facing difficulties because
of the curfew.
Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning
grassroots activist organization with more than 2.2 million supporters,
activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human
rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates
and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice,
freedom, truth and dignity are denied.
Amnesty International is a global movement of millions of people demanding human rights for all people - no matter who they are or where they are. We are the world's largest grassroots human rights organization.
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Pro-Palestinian student protest leader Mahmoud Khalil on Thursday began the process of suing U.S. President Donald Trump's administration for $20 million in damages for the harm he suffered as a result of the government's "politically motivated plan to unlawfully arrest, detain, and deport" him.
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Mahmoud Khalil has filed a claim against the Trump administration, seeking either $20 million or an official apology and change in the administration’s policy after he was held in detention for over 100 days. NBC News’ Maya Eaglin spoke to Khalil in New York City.
[image or embed]
— NBC News (@nbcnews.com) July 10, 2025 at 5:01 PM
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The Associated Press reported that "a White House spokesperson deferred comment to the State Department, which said its actions were fully supported by the law. In an emailed statement, Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, called Khalil's claim 'absurd,' accusing him of 'hateful behavior and rhetoric' that threatened Jewish students."
While the departments' comments signal that the Trump administration won't be making any apologies, Khalil's team is determined to move forward with his case.
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CNN's Omar Jimenez asked Phillips about the "big tent" philosophy often promoted by Democratic leaders who believe the party should welcome lawmakers and candidates who don't agree with every aspect of its platform—politicians like anti-choice Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and former Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who made millions of dollars from his coal business.
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Phillips admitted that "most Americans share the same values" as Mamdani, who has advocated for fare-free public transit, universal free childcare, and city-run grocery stores to operate alongside private stores and provide low-cost essentials to working families.
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Raising taxes for corporations and wealthy households is also broadly popular, with about 6 in 10 Americans supporting the proposal in a recent Pew Research poll.
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In a letter sent Wednesday to members of Congress, a coalition of more than 100 groups—including Public Citizen, the AFL-CIO, and Greenpeace—warned that by voting to approve these rescissions of federal funds, they would be giving Trump tacit approval to unconstitutionally take away Congress' authority to spend money.
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Under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, presidents are forbidden from unilaterally refusing to spend funds. However, Congress is allowed to pass a "rescission" bill within 45 days of canceling them if the president requests it.
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Under the emerging plan, the Trump administration would wait until closer to Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, to formally ask lawmakers to claw back a set of funds it has targeted for cuts. Even if Congress fails to vote on the request, the president’s timing would trigger a law that freezes the money until it ultimately expires.
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"[I]t is absurd for [Republicans] to expect Democrats to act as business as usual and engage in a bipartisan appropriations process to fund the government, while they concurrently plot to pass a purely partisan rescissions bill to defund those same programs negotiated on a bipartisan basis behind the scenes," Schumer wrote.
Murray called out Vought directly on Wednesday at a markup session on the next round of bills in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
"For us to be able to work in a bipartisan way effectively, that requires us to work with each other. To not just write bipartisan funding bills—but to defend them from partisan cuts sought by the president and the OMB director," she said during her opening remarks. "We cannot allow bipartisan funding bills with partisan rescission packages. It will not work."
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