Human Rights Watch lashes out at Pak govt for attacks on Hindus, Christians, Shias
Islamabad, Feb 3: Human Rights Watch in its World Report 2013 has slammed Pakistan government for allowing extremist groups to attack religious minorities like Hindus, Shias and Christians, and failing to act against human rights
“While the military continued to perpetrate abuses with impunity in Balochistan and beyond, Sunni extremists killed hundreds of Shia Muslims and the Taliban attacked schools, students, and teachers.”
Human Rights Watch documented a sharp escalation in persecution of religious minorities in 2012.
At least eight journalists were killed in Pakistan in 2012, including four in May alone. No one was held accountable in any of these cases. Media coverage of alleged abuses by state security forces and militant groups was impeded by a climate of fear, Human Rights Watch said.
Journalists rarely reported on human rights abuses by the military in counterterrorism operations, and the Taliban and other armed groups regularly threatened media outlets over their coverage.
Human Rights Watch recorded continued enforced disappearances and killings of suspected Baloch nationalists and militants. Baloch nationalists and other militant groups also stepped up attacks on non-Baloch civilians.
In 2012, well over 400 members of the Shia Muslim population were killed in targeted attacks that took place across Pakistan. In Balochistan province over 125 were killed, most of them from the Hazara community.
The government was unable or unwilling to break the links between Pakistan's military and intelligence agencies with extremist groups.
Sunni militant groups, including those with known links to the Pakistani military, its intelligence agencies, and affiliated paramilitaries, such as the ostensibly banned Lashkar-e Jhangvi, operated openly across Pakistan, as law enforcement officials turned a blind eye to attacks.
The government took no significant action to protect those under threat or to hold extremists accountable.
Suicide bombings, armed attacks, and killings by the Taliban, al Qaeda, and their affiliates continued in 2012, targeting politicians, journalists, religious minorities, and government security personnel. Militant Islamist groups attacked more than 100 schools in 2012, including students, teachers, and human rights advocates, Human Rights Watch said.
The Taliban's nearly fatal attack on Malala Yousafzai, a 15-year-old girl who had been an outspoken advocate for children's right to education, garnered condemnation from across the world and the political spectrum in Pakistan.
The deadly attacks on minority groups show no sign of letting up in 2013, Human Rights Watch said.
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for a January 10, 2013 double-suicide bombing in Quetta, Balochistan that killed 92 Hazara and wounded 120 more. Federal rule was imposed in the province after a four day sit-in by protesters who refused to bury the dead until government action was taken.
“Pakistan's Shia community suffered bloody attacks in 2012, and then 2013 began with the single worst atrocity against the Hazara in Pakistan's history,” Hasan said.
“The government needs to show some backbone and act urgently to protect vulnerable communities such as the Hazara, or risk appearing indifferent or even complicit in the mass killing of its own citizens.”