Protesting for Pakistan

History senior Ammar Ali Jan gathered with about 30 other students Tuesday to show his sympathy for victims of violence and oppression as a result of military rule in Pakistan."This emergency has affected me personally as it has affected the Pakistani student body on campus," Jan said. He added that authorities in Pakistan were on a university campus in the country Tuesday, waiting to arrest Jan's brother, a student leader in Pakistan. "Hundreds of thousands of people in Pakistan are sacrificing so much for their country, for democracy and for freedom," Jan said. "And these things aren't Pakistani things; these are universal things. People all around the world need to show solidarity with those people." The students assembled on the West Mall in protest of the ongoing events in Pakistan under the rule of President Pervez Musharraf."It is a protest condemning dictatorship in Pakistan, condemning the fact that the army has become institutionalized," said Ahmed Yusuf, anthropology graduate student.Protesters urged students and passersby to become more informed and pay more attention to what is happening in Pakistan. They said they believe that democracy can flourish in Pakistan if the U.S. government decreases support and funding for Musharraf. "Democracy has never really been given a chance to survive in Pakistan," Yusuf said. "Whenever there has been a hint of civil liberties or spaces for civil society to act the military has always come and curtailed those particular spaces."- Courtney Dudley