Murders most foul in Pakistan
There does not seem to be any end in sight to the spiralling cases of persecution of human rights activists or minorities in Pakistan, despite the recent change in the army and ISI dispensation. Such hapless elements continue to be targeted with fury and impunity.
The cases are becoming all the more glaring amid frequent incidents of suicide bombings in different parts of the country, and government "action" notwithstanding, terrorists are having a field day targeting mosques, public places and soft infrastructure which is taking a huge toll on innocent lives.
Most condemnable among the recent terror attacks was the one at the Shahbaz Qalandar shrine a few weeks ago in Sehwan, where nearly 88 people died.
In a related development, a prominent Pakistani lawyer and human rights activist, Muhammad Jan Gigyani, was brutally murdered on March 4 in Shabqadar, close to the Afghan border in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
The slain lawyer was known for his selfless service for the poor, particularly defending women subjected to human rights abuses and exploitation, so common in Pakistan. Gigyani is fondly remembered for his active association with Amn Tehreek (peace movement) - a group promoting peace in the turbulent regions of KP.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) claimed responsibility for the activist's assassination. It may be recalled that JuA is a dreaded and banned militant organisation which came into focus recently after a slew of terror strikes in parts of Pakistan.
Needless to emphasise that such state of affairs is a sad reflection on Pakistani law enforcing and security agencies for their abject failure to protect rights activists and whistleblowers.
In January this year, five human rights defenders, Ahmed Raza Naseer, Salman Haidar, Waqas Goraya, Asim Saeed and Samar Abbas disappeared mysteriously and the police are doing little to locate them. Their fate is still unknown.
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| Muhammad Jan Gigyani was brutally murdered on March 4. |
Such disappearances, interpreted or thought to be inspired for abductions, make issues murkier, raising suspicions in the absence of any valid explanation by security agencies. Moreover, such disappearances are becoming common in Pakistan, especially in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and KP.
It would, therefore, appear that the government writ does not run such that it can control such disappearances of minorities and human rights activists. Civil societies apprehend a segment of state complicity in such vanishing acts.
Dwelling on the issue of oppression of minorities in Pakistan, March 9 was observed by Christians as the commemoration of the Joseph Colony arson. Exactly four years ago, on March 9, 2013, a Christian colony commonly known as Joseph Colony was attacked by thousands of enraged Muslim mobs who indulging in arson and burnt as many as 170 houses, affecting 300 families.
The incident occurred when a poor Christian, Sawan Masih, was falsely arrested on charges of blasphemy. Such was the fury of the mob that the loudspeakers on top of mosques blared anti-Christian propaganda and instigated the majority Muslims to attack the minority. The security apparatus remained a mute spectator.
Marking the fourth year of such persecution, this year too the majority community flexed its muscle, displayed naked aggression and visibly intimidated the Christians to remain quiet and not raise their voice against strong-arm tactics by the majority and their hired communal goons.
The Christians had to swallow their pride and dignity and continue to suffer the wrath of the majority zealots who have no respect or fear of the law of the land.
With passage of time and a consistently indifferent attitude on the part of the Pakistani government, the minorities and rights watchers continue to be soft targets. The media, the majority lot and the establishment remain silent watchers of incessant atrocities.