Pakistan - Shooting Of Debra Lobo - Hate Crimes

Attacks on minorities are increasingly on the rise. Incidents such as Badami Bagh, the church blast in Peshawar, Kot Radha Kishan incident and the persecution of Ahmadis have hurt Pakistan’s people and reputation. The shooting of a US academic in Karachi, Debra Lobo, is another incident of religious hate targeting innocents. The incident has to make Pakistanis look into their own hypocrisy. Shooting at someone for being American, is no different from hate crimes that Muslims face in western countries. The same protections, and change in discourse, that is demanded of Western nations, with regards to Muslim immigrants, must also be demanded of ourselves.
Lobo is an Assistant Professor of Community Health at Jinnah Medical and Dental College and highly praised by her colleagues and students for her contribution to her field. She is not the first academic in Karachi to fall victim to religiously motivated hate crimes. Not only does discourse have to change so that minorities and foreigners feel safe in Pakistan, but there has to be respect for professionals belonging to the health and education sectors. Pakistan cannot develop if militants on bikes keep shooting at polio workers, and keep murdering doctors and teachers. The mindset has to change, so that the doctor and the teacher are as revered in society as is an Imam or a military man. As a nation we sit in silent agreement when those like Hafiz Saeed declared war on all kafirs, but when a teacher is killed, there is no sympathy, but the view that the crime against her has garnered too much media attention because she was from the US.
A leaflet found near the crime scene said ‘we will burn America’ and that the attack was to avenge the recent killing of five militants in an ‘encounter’ in Keamari area. The Rangers had killed the five militants linked with the outlawed Al Qaeda and the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan in Keamari on April 8 in an alleged encounter. Lobo had nothing to do with this operation, and yet, she fights for her life. The attack on Lobo much be vocally condemned because revenge could be taken on any one of us. We are all minorities, in one way or another.