Thursday, September 6, 2012
پاکستان میں فرقہ وارانہ تشدد پر اظہار تشویش
آخری وقت اشاعت: جمعرات 6 ستمبر 2012 , 09:15 GMT 14:15 PST
تنظیم کے مطابق صرف بلوچستان میں ہزارہ آبادی کے ایک سو افراد کو قتل کیا گیا
انسانی حقوق کے لیے کام کرنے والی بین الاقوامی تنظیم ہیومن رائٹس واچ نے پاکستان میں بڑھتے ہوئے فرقہ وارانہ تشدد پرتشویش کا اظہار کرتے ہوئے کہا ہے کہ رواں سال میں شیعہ فرقے سے تعلق رکھنے والے تین سو بیس افراد کو ہلاک کیا گیا۔
تنظیم کے مطابق صرف بلوچستان میں ہزارہ آبادی کے ایک سو افراد کو قتل کیا گیا۔
تنظیم کے ایشیا کے ڈائریکٹر بریڈ ایڈمس نے نیویارک سے جاری ایک بیان میں کہا ہے کہ پاکستانی حکومت کی جانب سے فرقہ وارانہ تشدد میں ملوث عناصر کو گرفتار کرنے میں ناکامی دراصل اس کا اس مسئلے پر کوئی خاص توجہ نہ دینا ہے۔
بیان کے مطابق گزشتہ سال کے دوران بلوچستان، کراچی، گلگت بلتستان اور ملک کے قبائلی علاقوں میں شیعہ آبادی کو نشانہ بنا کر کئی حملے کیے گئے۔
تنظیم کے مطابق اس سال تشدد کے کم از کم چار ایسے بڑے واقعات ہوئے جن میں شیعہ ہزارہ فرقے سے تعلق رکھنے والے اکتیس افراد کو نشانہ بنایا گیا۔ فرقہ وارانہ تشدد کے یہ واقعات کوئٹہ اور بابو سر میں پیش آئے۔ بابو سر واقعے کی ذمہ داری پاکستانی تحریک طالبان نے قبول کی تھی۔
بیان میں سنی فرقے سے تعلق رکھنے والےعسکریت پسند گروپوں کے کردار پر تشویش کا اظہار کیا گیا ہے۔
ہیومن رائٹس واچ کے مطابق کالعدم تنظیم لشکر جھنگوی ملک میں بغیر کسی روک ٹوک کے آپریٹ کر رہی ہے اور قانون نافذ کرنے والے اداروں نے شیعہ فرقے کے خلاف ہونے والے تشدد کی طرف سے جیسے آنکھیں بند کر رکھیں ہیں۔
تنظیم کا یہ بھی کہنا ہے کہ کچھ سنی انتہا پسند تنظیموں کے پاکستان کی فوج، خفیہ اداروں اور فرنٹئیر کور سے تعلقات کوئی پوشیدہ بات نہیں ہے۔
ہیومن رائٹس واچ کے مطابق اگست میں لشکر جھنگوی کے سربراہ ملک اسحاق کی گرفتاری اس ضمن میں اہم پیش رفت ہے۔
ملک اسحاق کے خلاف فرقہ وارانہ تشدد کے چوالیس مقدمات قا ئم ہیں جن میں ستر افراد کا قتل شامل ہے۔
ڈائریکٹر بریڈ ایڈمس کا کہنا ہے کہ ملک اسحاق کی گرفتاری پاکستان کے قانونی نظام کے لیے ایک اہم امتحان کی حثیت رکھتا ہے۔
انہوں نے کہا ’فرقہ وارانہ تشدد کا خاتمہ ان جرائم کے ذمہ داروں کے قانون کے دائرہ کار میں لاکر سزا دیے بغیر ممکن نہیں ہے۔ ‘
بریڈ ایڈمس کا یہ بھی کہنا ہے کہ حکومت پاکستان شیعہ فرقے کے قتل عام پر خاموش تماشائی کا کردار ادا نہیں کر سکتی۔
تنظیم نے پاکستان کی وفاقی و صوبائی حکومتوں پر شیعہ فرقے کے خلاف حملوں اور دوسرے جرائم میں ملوث افراد کو قانون کے دائرہ کار میں لانے کی ضرورت پر زور دیا۔
تنظیم نے اس بات پر بھی زور دیا کہ حکومت شیعہ آبادی والے علاقوں خاص طور پر کوئٹہ میں ہزارہ آبادی کے علاقوں میں سکیورٹی کو بڑھائے۔ اس کے علاوہ حکومت سنی عسکریت پسند تنظیموں کے فوجی، نیم فوجی اور خفیہ ایجنسیوں کے ساتھ روابط کے الزامات کی بھی تحقیقات کرائے۔
بریڈ ایڈمس کے مطابق پاکستان کے سیاسی رہنما، قانون نافذ کرنے والے ادارے، عدلیہ اور فوج کو اس مسئلے کو اتنا ہی
سنجیدگی سے لینا ہوگا جیسے وہ ریاست کو لاحق دوسرے سیکیورٹی خطرات کو لیتی ہے۔
HRW Calls For 'Urgent' Action In Pakistan To Protect Shi'a
Rescue teams and ambulances near the site of Hazara Shi'a killings in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan in early September.September 06, 2012
QUETTA, Pakistan -- Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Pakistani authorities to "urgently act" to protect minority Shi'ite Muslims from rising sectarian attacks by members of the rival majority Sunnis.
In a new statement, the U.S.-based rights watchdog said at least 320 Shi'a have been killed in targeted attacks this year across Pakistan. It said the minority Hazara community has suffered more than 100 such killings in the southwestern Balochistan Province.
"Deadly attacks on Shi'ite communities across Pakistan are escalating," Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, warned.
He added that the government's persistent failure to apprehend attackers or prosecute the extremist groups organizing the attacks suggests that it is indifferent to this carnage.
"Pakistan's government cannot play the role of unconcerned bystander as the Shi'ites across Pakistan are slaughtered," Adams said.
HRW said some Sunni extremist groups are known to be "allies" of the Pakistani military, its intelligence agencies, and affiliated paramilitaries, such as the Frontier Corps.
In particular, HRW expressed concern over Islamabad's failure to rein in the anti-Shi'ite Sunni extremist group Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ).
The LeJ is regarded as among the most extreme Sunni groups, accused of killing hundreds of Shi'a since its emergence in the early 1990s.
HRW said LeJ has operated with "widespread impunity" despite being officially banned by Pakistani authorities in 2001.
Adams said the arrest last month of LeJ leader Malik Ishaq, who has been accused of killing around 70 people, was "an important test for Pakistan's criminal justice system."
In one of the bloodiest recent attacks targeting Shi'a, on August 16 gunmen dragged 20 Shi'ite travelers off a bus and reportedly killed them at point-blank range in northern Pakistan.
On September 1, four gunmen riding two motorbikes reportedly intercepted a bus near the Hazarganji area of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, pulled five Shi'ite vegetable sellers off the vehicle and shot them dead.
Sectarian conflict has left thousands of people dead in Pakistan since the late 1980s.
Based on reporting by AFP and RFE/RL
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Human Rights Watch; Pakistan: Shia Killings Escalate
Government and Security Forces Fail to Protect Muslim Minority
Deadly attacks on Shia communities across Pakistan are escalating. The government’s persistent failure to apprehend attackers or prosecute the extremist groups organizing the attacks suggests that it is indifferent to this carnage.
(New York) – The Pakistani government should urgently act to protect the minority Shia Muslim community in Pakistan from sectarian attacks by Sunni militant groups, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should hold accountable those responsible for ordering and participating in deadly attacks targeting Shia.
While sectarian violence is a longstanding problem in Pakistan, attacks against ordinary Shia have increased dramatically in recent years, Human Rights Watch said. In 2012, at least 320 members of the Shia population have been killed in targeted attacks. Over 100 have been killed in Balochistan province, the majority from the Hazara community.
While sectarian violence is a longstanding problem in Pakistan, attacks against ordinary Shia have increased dramatically in recent years, Human Rights Watch said. In 2012, at least 320 members of the Shia population have been killed in targeted attacks. Over 100 have been killed in Balochistan province, the majority from the Hazara community.
“Deadly attacks on Shia communities across Pakistan are escalating,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The government’s persistent failure to apprehend attackers or prosecute the extremist groups organizing the attacks suggests that it is indifferent to this carnage.”
In the most recent violence, in two separate attacks on September 1, 2012, gunmen attacked and killed eight Hazara Shia in Quetta, Balochistan’s capital. In the first attack, witnesses told Human Rights Watch that four armed men riding on two motorbikes shot dead five Hazaras at a bus stop in the Hazar Ganji area of the city. The victims, all vegetable sellers, were returning from the vegetable market. Within two hours of the attack, gunmen riding a motorbike attacked a nearby bus stop, killing two people from the Hazara community. An eighth victim, also a Hazara Shia, died in the hospital on September 2.
On August 30, gunmen riding a motorbike shot dead Zulfiqar Naqvi, a Shia judge, his driver,Essa Khan, and a police bodyguard, Abdul Shakoor, as Naqvi headed to work in Quetta.
On August 16, four buses passing through the Babusar Top area of Mansehra district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (formerly the North-West Frontier Province) were ambushed by gunmen who made all the passengers disembark. The attackers checked the national identity cards of each passenger and summarily executed 22 passengers identified as belonging to the Shia community. A spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the killings.
Similar attacks targeting the Shia population have taken place repeatedly over the last year in Balochistan, the port city of Karachi, predominantly Shia populated areas of Gilgit Baltistan in the northern areas, and in Pakistan’s tribal areas, Human Rights Watch said.
Sunni militant groups such as the ostensibly banned Lashkar-e Jhangvi have operated with widespread impunity across Pakistan while law enforcement officials have effectively turned a blind eye on attacks against Shia communities. Some Sunni extremist groups are known to be allies of the Pakistani military, its intelligence agencies, and affiliated paramilitaries, such as the Frontier Corps, Human Rights Watch said.
While authorities claim to have arrested dozens of suspects in attacks against Shia since 2008, only a handful have been charged, and no one has been held accountable for these attacks. The August 31 arrest of Malik Ishaq, the leader of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, in Lahore in a case filed against him for inciting violence against the Shia community on August 9 is an important development, coming after repeated failed attempts to bring him to justice, Human Rights Watch said. Despite being the accused in some 44 cases, involving the killing of some 70 people, mostly from the Shia community, Ishaq has previously been acquitted by Pakistani courts in 34 cases and granted bail in the other 10. The government recently detained him under provisions of the Maintenance of Public Order Act as it deemed him to be a threat to public security. A review board of the Lahore High Court ordered his release in January 2012 on the grounds that Ishaq’s continued detention was unjustified because he had been granted bail in all cases pending against him.
“The arrest of Malik Ishaq, who has been implicated in dozens of killings, is an important test for Pakistan’s criminal justice system,” Adams said. “Sectarian violence won’t end until those responsible are brought to trial and justice.”
Human Rights Watch urged Pakistan’s federal government and relevant provincial governments to make all possible efforts to promptly apprehend and prosecute those responsible for recent attacks and other crimes targeting the Shia population. The government should direct civilian agencies and the military responsible for security to actively protect those facing attack from extremist groups, and to address the growing perception, particularly in Balochistan and Pakistan’s tribal areas, that state authorities look the other way when Shia are attacked. It should increase the number of security personnel in Shia majority areas and enclaves at high risk of attack, particularly the Hazara community in Quetta. The government should also actively investigate allegations of collusion between Sunni militant groups and military intelligence and paramilitary forces and hold accountable personnel found to be involved in criminal acts.
“Pakistan’s government cannot play the role of unconcerned bystander as the Shia across Pakistan are slaughtered,” Adams said. “Pakistan’s political leaders, law enforcement agencies, judiciary, and military need to take this as seriously as they take other security threats to the state.”
Shia dentist among four killed in Balochistan
QUETTA: As many as four people, including a Shia dentist, were killed in separate incidents in Balochistan on Wednesday.
According to sources, unidentified men opened fire on a shop in Pasni. As a result, two people, identified as Ramzan and Mushtaq, received bullet injuries and died while on their way to the District Headquarters Hospital.
Separately, unidentified men killed a man in the Khuzdar Town and injured another passerby. Sources said the men opened fire on a man, identified as Abdul Ghaffar, at Umar Farooq Chowk. Ghaffar died on the spot and a passerby, identified as Fazal, sustained injuries. The assailants fled from the scene. Police have registered cases of all separate incidents and investigation was underway. Meanwhile, a dentist belonging to Hazara community was killed in a firing incident in the provincial capital on Tuesday night, police said. Unidentified armed men opened indiscriminate fire on Shaukat Clinic on Kinrani Road near Hazara Town and fled from the scene. Resultantly, one man sustained injuries and succumbed to them before reaching the hospital. The deceased was identified as Niamatullah. Police said that the he belonged to Hazara community. Investigation is underway to ascertain the motive behind the killing. No group has claimed responsibility for the murder so far. Police had not registered a case until the filing of this report. Separately, the Quetta police recovered a body from the Double Road area of the city. The police shifted the body to the Civil Hospital. staff report
According to sources, unidentified men opened fire on a shop in Pasni. As a result, two people, identified as Ramzan and Mushtaq, received bullet injuries and died while on their way to the District Headquarters Hospital.
Separately, unidentified men killed a man in the Khuzdar Town and injured another passerby. Sources said the men opened fire on a man, identified as Abdul Ghaffar, at Umar Farooq Chowk. Ghaffar died on the spot and a passerby, identified as Fazal, sustained injuries. The assailants fled from the scene. Police have registered cases of all separate incidents and investigation was underway. Meanwhile, a dentist belonging to Hazara community was killed in a firing incident in the provincial capital on Tuesday night, police said. Unidentified armed men opened indiscriminate fire on Shaukat Clinic on Kinrani Road near Hazara Town and fled from the scene. Resultantly, one man sustained injuries and succumbed to them before reaching the hospital. The deceased was identified as Niamatullah. Police said that the he belonged to Hazara community. Investigation is underway to ascertain the motive behind the killing. No group has claimed responsibility for the murder so far. Police had not registered a case until the filing of this report. Separately, the Quetta police recovered a body from the Double Road area of the city. The police shifted the body to the Civil Hospital. staff report
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