The World Sindh Institute, a Washington DC-based justice and human rights advocacy group, wholeheartedly congratulates the people of Pakistan for finally breaking the choke-hold of a notorious military dictator on their freedoms and constitutional rights. The WSI joins millions of Pakistani people in celebrating yet another milestone towards Pakistan's, one would hope, ultimate move towards becoming a just, secular, peace-loving, egalitarian and constitutional democracy. Zahid Makhdoom, spokesperson of the WSI Board urged the Pakistani Parliament to immediately restore the rule of law and constitutional freedoms of Pakistani people. He further urged establishment of a "truth and reconciliation commission" to review and hear tales of untold misery, murder, dispossession, dejection, hopelessness, and mayhem that continues to plague Pakistani citizens in general and those from Balochistan, NWFP, and Sindh in particular. The proposed independent commission should be empowered to make concrete binding recommendations to the Parliament for building a just, secular, peaceful, and democratic society. He recommended that Pakistani Parliament issues unconditional apology to the people of Balochistan, Sindh, and NWFP for unleashing state-terror on their town and villages and for pillaging and plundering their resources. Such an apology must accompany concrete steps towards rectifying the skewed federalism and establishing constitutional separation of powers between the provinces and between the three branches of government, namely the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary. In terms of the renewal of federal structure in Pakistan, Ms. Humaira Rahman of the WSI Board noted that new resource-based developments have made Sindh the sixth largest reserve of coal energy in world. Its natural gas reserves have now surpassed those of Balochistan making Sindh the primary source of energy in Pakistan. She emphasised federal government honouring and respecting Sindh's control over its resources. Makhdoom further reiterated the WSI belief that no democratic reforms are possible in Pakistan without dramatic and drastic cuts in the power and privilege of Pakistani military and its allied institutions as well as without re-evaluating Pakistan's position in the global context. With respect to the latter, it is important that Pakistan distances itself from the neo-imperial and neo-colonial policies and designs of the United States and NATO and from the fundamentalist Islamic persuasions and policies; home-grown or foreign. Immediate restoration of all judicial offices that were unconstitutionally usurped by the dictator Musharaff and the repeal of Hudood Ordinance and all other similar extra-constitutional "Sharia" laws and constitutional affirmation that no one would be discriminated against on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, religious or political belief, language, or ethnicity would be a genuine and concrete illustration of the sincerity and democratic credentials and commitment of the new elected Parliament. The WSI Board consists of Ayesha Babar, Dr. Fauzia Deeba, Humaira Rahman, Ramesh Tharwani, Sohail Ansari and Zahid Makhdoom.