Thursday, June 11, 2020
US Report On Religious Freedom Blames Pakistan For Targeted Killing Of Minorities
NGOs expressed concern that authorities have often failed to intervene in instances of societal violence against religious minorities due to fear of the perpetrators, inadequate staff, or apathy.
An annual American report on religious freedom has voiced concern over the targeted killing in Pakistan of Shia Muslims, including ethnic Hazaras, who are largely Shia, and Ahmadi Muslims in attacks believed to be driven by faith.
The US '2019 International Religious Freedom Report' that documents major instances of the violation of religious freedom across the world, released by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department on Wednesday, said human rights activists reported numerous instances of societal violence related to allegations of blasphemy; of efforts by individuals to coerce religious minorities to convert to Islam; and of societal harassment, discrimination, and threats of violence directed at members of religious minority communities.
NGOs expressed concern about what they stated was an increasing frequency of attempts to kidnap, forcibly convert, and forcibly marry young women from religious minority communities, especially young Hindu and Christian women. "There also continued to be reports of attacks on holy places, cemeteries, and religious symbols of Hindu, Christian, and Ahmadiyya minorities," the report added.
According to Ahmadi civil society organizations, the State Department said, Islamabad failed to restrict advertisements or speeches inciting anti-Ahmadi violence, despite this responsibility being a component of the NAP. Civil society groups continued to express concerns about the safety of religious minorities.
The report said that visiting US government officials met with minority community representatives, parliamentarians, human rights activists, and members of the federal cabinet to highlight concerns regarding the treatment of religious minority communities, the application of blasphemy laws, and other forms of discrimination on the basis of religion. But still no coercing action has been taken.
According to civil society reports, there were at least 84 individuals imprisoned on blasphemy charges, at least 29 of whom had received death sentences, as compared with 77 and 28, respectively, in 2018, the State Department said in the report.
NGOs expressed concern that authorities have often failed to intervene in instances of societal violence against religious minorities due to fear of the perpetrators, inadequate staff, or apathy. "Perpetrators of societal violence and abuses against religious minorities often faced no legal consequences due to a lack of follow-through by law enforcement, bribes offered by the accused, and pressure on victims to drop cases. In some cases of alleged kidnapping and forced conversions of young religious minority women, however, government authorities intervened to protect the alleged victim and ascertain her will," the report stated.
On November 9, the government opened a newly refurbished Sikh holy site, the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, along with a visa-free transit corridor for Sikh pilgrims traveling from India. However, minority religious leaders stated members of their communities continued to experience discrimination in public schools and tertiary education, which resulted in very few religious minority applicants competing and qualifying for private and civil service employment.
Pakistan is a well-known perpetrator of such human rights violations. On several occasions, it has promised to safeguard the interest of minority communities in the nation. However, continuing attacks on minorities narrate a different story.
Islamabad has been discriminating against its religious minorities. This is manifested in various forms of targeted violence, mass murders, extrajudicial killings, abduction, rapes, forced conversion to Islam, etc., making Pakistani Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Ahmadiyyas, and Shias the most persecuted minorities in the region.
#CoronaInPakistan - WHO’s advice
THE writing was on the wall from the start. Only the government refused to see it. Now, the WHO’s letter to the provinces, expressing concerns over the steep spike in Covid-19 infections across the country owing to easing the lockdown without effective disease transmission control or surveillance systems, has only confirmed our worst fears. The government had erred in lifting restrictions and opening up the economy after two months of closure. Its actions have caused infections to spike and overwhelm the country’s already overstressed public health infrastructure. Every call for extension in the virus lockdown was dismissed as an ‘elitist plan’. The lockdown was lifted on the plea that Pakistan could ill afford a longer closure as the shuttered economy would kill more poor people than would Covid-19 infections. Consensus was missing as the centre berated Sindh for pursuing stricter measures, and encouraged businesses to demand the removal of restrictions. It was also troubling to note the superior judiciary’s view that Covid-19 “apparently is not a pandemic in Pakistan”.
A month after the government ordered the easing of virus restrictions, the country has confirmed more than 115,000 infections and some 2,300 deaths, with each day recording a higher number of cases. Now Pakistan ranks 15th on the list of countries with the most Covid-19 infections and is among the top 10 reporting the highest number of new cases. The disease has spread to every corner of the country and hospitals are reportedly turning away patients because they don’t have enough beds. The health authorities say the outbreak will not peak before August. And yet, despite this grim situation, the government continues to send out confusing messages to the public, with politicians often seen without a mask and not observing social distancing guidelines.
The WHO letter says that the disease transmission is steep, and the health system isn’t capable of detecting, testing, isolating and treating every case, and tracing every contact. It also points out that a high positivity rate of 24pc, which is above the required level of 5pc, underlines the seriousness of the situation and the poor efforts of the government in this regard. It urges the provinces to enhance daily testing capacity to 50,000 to assess the actual prevalence of the coronavirus besides strengthening the surveillance system (identification, testing, isolation, care for the ill including identification and the follow-up of contacts and quarantining). Lastly, it has recommended the imposition of a ‘two weeks on, two weeks off’ lockdown to contain the virus transmission. The government disregarded expert advice when doctors called for banning congregations and ensuring the strict implementation of social distancing guidelines to halt transmissions. It didn’t consider their opinion when lifting the lockdown. And it has consistently ignored violations of social distancing guidelines with the result that few have bothered to make the necessary adjustments to lifestyles. It is doubtful then that it will heed the WHO’s advice.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1562771/whos-advice
بلاول بھٹو کا شہباز شریف کو فون، خیر یت دریافت کی
چیئرمین پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے شہباز شریف کو ٹیلیفون کرکے اُن کی خیریت دریافت کی۔
بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے شہباز شریف سے گفتگو کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ مجھے ابھی معلوم ہوا کہ آپ کورونا سے متاثر ہوئے ہیں۔
پی پی چیئرمین نے کہا کہ آصف زرداری بھی آپ کی جلدصحت یابی کے لیے دعاگو ہیں۔
بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے شہباز شریف سے نواز شریف کی صحت کے بارے میں بھی دریافت کیا۔
پی پی چیئرمین نے شہباز شریف اور نواز شریف کی جلد صحت یابی کے لیے دعا کی۔
بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا کہ یہ وقت اکٹھا ہوکر قوم کو کورونا سے نجات دلانے کےلیے جدوجہد کرنے کا ہے۔
واضح رہے کہ قومی اسمبلی میں قائد حزب اختلاف شہباز شریف کا کورونا ٹیسٹ مثبت آ گیا جس کے بعد انہوں نے خود کو گھر میں آئسولیٹ کر لیا ہے۔
مسلم لیگ نون کی ترجمان مریم اورنگزیب کے مطابق شہباز شریف بار بار کورونا کے ٹیسٹ کرا رہے تھے، وہ ڈاکٹروں کی ہدایات پر عمل کر رہے ہیں۔