Human Rights situation in Pakistan and Kashmir, speech of Dr Shabir
Choudhry in Geneva during 25th Session of the UN Human Rights
session 18 March 2014
It is true that Pakistan is and has been a victim of terrorism for some
years, and tens of thousands of innocent people have lost their lives because
of the terrorist related activities. I feel sad on this loss of life and
destruction; but it is also true that the Pakistani establishment nourished,
promoted and exported terrorism. Their policy of promoting jihad and religious
hatred in to other countries has come to haunt them.
Current
situation in Pakistan is such that no one feels safe. Even the most powerful
and rich people do not step outside their homes without a bullet proof vehicles
and appropriate security arrangements. Muslims and non - Muslims, civilians and
men in uniform are all targets of someone. There is someone looking for them
either to kill or harass them.
In
this kind of environment weak and members of the ethnic minorities are easy
targets. Killers and mercenaries can get away even after killing innocent
people. Extremists in hundreds attack a prison; and without much difficulty
break in, stay there for some time and go away with hundreds of prisoners. They
travel with their Lorries and jeeps and no one challenge them or make an effort
to arrest them.
Hindu
population has now declined to about 1.7 per cent; whereas at the time of creation
of Pakistan it was much higher. It is decreasing as families seek immigration
to India. According a former legislator and chairman of the Pakistan Hindu
Council, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani said, “Abduction, rapes and coerced conversion
of our daughters, extortion, blackmailing and kidnapping of businessmen for
ransom are some of the reasons why they were leaving Pakistan.”
Islam says Respect and honour all human beings irrespective of their
religion, color, race, sex, language, status, property, birth, profession/job
and so on [17/70]
Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy, a Professor at the Qaaid e Azam University in
Pakistan, wrote an article called ‘RELIGIOUS
PERSECUTION IN PAKISTAN’, which was published on 13 March 2014 said and I quote:
‘Pakistani
Christians have a still tougher time. In March 2012 over 100 homes owned by
Pakistani Christians, as well as two small churches, were set ablaze by
thousands of angry Muslims in Lahore. Sanitary worker and Christian, Sawan
Masih, was accused of blasphemous remarks in the course of an argument with a
Muslim friend. In 2009, a 20,000 strong mob, fired with the notion that some
Christian man had destroyed a page of the Quran, burned down 50 Christian homes
in the town of Gojra. The village of Shantinagar had been similarly destroyed
in 1997....In September 2013, the double suicide bombings at a Sunday mass at
the century-old All Saints Church in Peshawar, left nearly 90 worshippers
dead’. Unquote
Shia
Muslims and Ahmadis were very enthusiastic about creation of Pakistan, and fully
supported the Pakistan movement. Even Shia Muslims had no problem in supporting
other Muslims when Mr Bhutto in1974 declared Ahmadis as non-Muslim. However,
Shia Community is at the receiving end now as voices from the extremists who
demand that Shias should also be declared kafirs - non Muslims; and Pakistan
should be declared as a Sunni state.
In
2012, four buses which were going from Rawalpindi to Gilgit were stopped by men
with guns who demanded to examine national identification cards of passengers.
Those with typical Shia names, like Abbas and Jafri, were separated, and 46
people were shot dead on the spot. The massacres of Hazara Shias in Mastung and
in other places made headlines in national and international media.
Situation of Ahmedis is even worse. In one case, where news reached to extremists that Nadia Hanif, a
17-year-old school teacher who had died of illness was actually an Ahmadi but
buried in a Muslim graveyard in Chanda Singh village, Kasur. Her grave was
promptly dug up, and the body removed for reburial. Source
US report criticises Pakistan’s abuse of blasphemy laws, published today
on 18 March 2014 strongly criticise Pakistan’s record on human rights, and
especially issues related to the dubious blasphemy law. The US Commission on International
Religious Freedom, reported that Pakistan
currently has 14 individuals known to be on death row while 19 others are
serving life sentences on charges of committing blasphemy.
45 years old Aasia Bibi, a mother of
five children was accused of insulting the prophet Muhammad. Later reports
confirmed that she was falsely accused to settle some old score, but she is in
prison since 19 June 2009, as her appeal has not been heard. Sameena
Imtiaz, founder of Islamabad-based Peace Education Development Foundation
(PEAD) says the commission’s findings are another “reminder of the
religious intolerance that has permeated the society at large”.
The original blasphemy law, drawn up by
the British and amended in 1986 by then-dictator General Zia-ul-Haq, puts in
place a mandatory death sentence under section 295-C. Sameena Imtiaz says since
the amendment more than a 1,000 cases have been registered against Ahmadis,
Christians, Hindus and even Muslims. In many cases that investigations have
revealed that often the reasons for the abuse allegations are made because of
personal enmity, property disputes and religious hatred.
In its State of Human Rights in 2012
report, the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan states: “Abuse of
the blasphemy law continues to take a heavy toll in terms of human lives and
harassment of citizens.” Source
Pakistan No School for 25 million children
Out of all the countries in the world, Nigeria has the highest number of
out-of-school children, and Pakistan is second, with 25 million out-of-school.
Gender discrimination in the Pakistani educational system is alarming.
In primary school ratio of boys and girls is 10:4. Regional disparities are
also alarming. The literacy rate in FATA is 29 percent for males and three
percent for females.
What's alarming is that
· 55,000 primary schools have no drinking water (40 percent of the total).
· 55,000 primary schools have no toilet facilities.
· More than 82,000 primary schools have no electricity (60 percent of the
total).
· 55,000 primary schools have no boundary walls.
· One in ten children
in the world who are not in primary schools lives in Pakistan.
· 26 countries are poorer than Pakistan but send more children to schools.
· Only one in three Pakistani women in rural areas can read.
· Only 50 percent of Pakistani school children can read a sentence.
· Pakistan’s chances of achieving MDGs (Millennium Development Goals)
stand at zero percent (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India are on track to
achieving MDGs).
· Sindh Province of Pakistan will achieve MDGs in 2049; Punjab in 2041;
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2064 and Balochistan in 2100.
· Only 47 percent of Pakistani children in Class-V can read simple
Class-II stories in Urdu.
· Only 37 percent of Pakistani children in Class-V can do three-digit
division. Imagine;
· 73 percent of Class-III and 39 percent of Class-V students cannot read
Class-III English sentences.
· Pakistan’s education sector is thoroughly politicised.
· And the most alarming fact of them all is that all of this is self
inflicted. There is neither a Jewish nor a Hindu conspiracy behind it.
· Teacher absenteeism is alarming.
· The phenomenon of ghost teachers is alarming.
· The phenomenon of ghost schools is alarming.
· Imagine: a survey done a few years ago found that on an average day 10
percent of teachers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 25 percent in Punjab are absent
(apparently, teacher absenteeism in Punjab has now been brought down).
· Remember, Pakistan promised in front of the world to achieve all that by
2015.
· The way out of this darkness is no rocket science; just two Ds can go a
long way – decentralisation and de-politicisation of all decision-making within
the education sector. No more politics on education, please.
· “Education is a matter of life or death for Pakistan. The world is
progressing so rapidly that without the requisite advance in education, not
only shall we be left behind others but we may be wiped out altogether”
Quaid-e-Azam, the founder of Pakistan.
Source: Dr Farrukh Saleem, 23 February 2014
As has been reiterated time and again, that we are not against State of
Pakistan or against the people of Pakistan; however, we have every right to
criticise wrong policies of Pakistan which directly or indirectly affects our
lives and future of our beloved country Jammu and Kashmir which has been
forcibly divided by India and Pakistan.
We strongly believe that due to wrong policies of Pakistan we people of
former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir have suffered immensely; and our
struggle for unfettered right of self-determination and united and independent
Kashmir has been very seriously damaged by the wrong policies of Pakistan,
which in practise has made Kashmir a territorial dispute between India and
Pakistan.
What surprises me most is that with this kind of record on human rights,
Pakistani rulers and their establishment still urge us that we should join
Pakistan. Before taking any decision with regard to our future, we people of
forcibly divided State of Kashmir have to see what is there for us and our
future generations.
Pakistani governments have failed to protect life and property of those
who are their citizens; what can they offer to us. When we see that Pakistani
people suffer because of wrong policies of Pakistan, it hurts us; but at the same
time we say we are not fools to join Pakistan.
Situation on the Indian side of the divide is not any better, as India
also failed to fulfil promises assumed under the UNCIP Resolutions and the
Provisional accession. People of the State of Jammu and Kashmir are suffering
on both side of the divide and those who rule us claim that they are our well
wishers and friends. We know those who occupy us cannot be friends, as their
agenda is different to us. We want to have united and independent Jammu and Kashmir
where we can establish a society based on democratic and secular ideals.
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