Information since January 1997 on a Sunni sect called PAK Panjatan and its organization, PAK Panjatan Parisad, including its branches and areas of operation, the treatment of its leaders and members by Islamic fundamentalists such as the Jama'at-i Islami (JI) and the Shibir, and on the state protection available to them, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Sources Consulted

Amnesty International Report 1997. 1997.

Bangladesh: A Travel Survival Kit. June 1996.
Coordinating Council of Human Rights in Bangladesh, Dhaka. 5 April 1997.

State of Human Rights in Bangladesh: 1996.

Current History [Philadelphia]. Monthly. January-November 1997.

The Europa World Year Book 1996. 1996.

Extremist Groups: An International Compilation of Terrorist Organizations, Violent Political Groups, and Issue-Oriented Militant Movements. 1996.

Human Rights in Developing Countries Yearbook. Yearly. 1995, 1996.

Human Rights Watch World Report 1997. 1996.

Islam and Islamic Groups: A Worldwide Reference Guide. 1992.

Mondes rebelles: acteurs, conflits et violences politiques: Asie, Maghreb, Proche et Moyen-Orient, Europe. 1996.

News from Asia Watch [New York]. Monthly. 1996-present.
Office of Asylum Affairs (OAA), Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, United States. May 1995.

Bangladesh: Comments on Country Conditions and Asylum Claims.

Political Handbook of the World: 1995-1996. 1996.

Political Parties of Asia and the Pacific. 1985.
Refugees, Immigration and Asylum Section (RIAS), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia. July 1994.

Country Profile: Bangladesh.

Research Directorate. "Bangladesh" country file. January 1997-present.

_____. "Bangladesh: Amnesty International" country file. January 1997-present.
_____. June 1997.

Contextual Information Package: Bangladesh.

_____. Indexed Media Review [Ottawa]. January 1997-present.

Revolutionary and Dissident Movements of the World: An International Guide. 1991.

Electronic sources: Internet, IRB Databases, LEXIS/NEXIS.

Unsuccessful attempts to contact five oral sources.