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
Human Rights Watch urged Pakistan's federal government and relevant provincial governments to promptly apprehend and prosecute those responsible for attacks on the Shia and others at risk.
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, military intelligence, and paramilitary forces, and hold accountable personnel found to be involved in criminal acts.
Abuses under the country's blasphemy law continued as dozens were charged in 2012.
At least 16 people remained on death row and 20 were serving life sentences for blasphemy.
Members of the Ahmadi religious community have been major targets for blasphemy prosecutions and subjected to specific anti-Ahmadi laws. Militant groups forced the demolition or closure of Ahmadi mosques and vandalised Ahmadi graves across Punjab province.
“Pakistan's religious minorities endured another year of persecution, insecurity, and fear,” Hasan said. “The government's failure to reform or repeal the blasphemy law provides extremists with legal tools to impose bigotry and perpetrate abuse.”
State security forces routinely violated basic rights in the course of counterterrorism operations.
Thousands of alleged Taliban members, rounded up in a nationwide crackdown that began in 2009 in Swat and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), remained in military detention without charge or trial.
“The Pakistani military's abusive counterterrorism practices are as counterproductive as they are unlawful,” Hasan said. “By committing abuses against suspected militants in Balochistan and Taliban in FATA, the military is fueling the militancy it is fighting.”
In June 2012 Pakistan's independent Supreme Court removed Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani from office for refusing to bring criminal charges against the president, an act widely dubbed a “judicial coup.” The judiciary muzzled media criticism of itself in 2012 through threats of contempt of court proceedings.
In October the high courts in Islamabad and Lahore issued orders to stop the broadcast of television programs critical of the judiciary. This bar on the media came in the aftermath of a multi-million dollar corruption scandal involving Arsalan Iftikhar, the son of the Supreme Court chief justice.
The Supreme Court continued to take apparently political actions in January 2013 by admitting for hearing a malicious petition filed against Sherry Rehman, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, because of her 2010 campaign to reform the country's blasphemy law.
“Pakistan's Supreme Court exercised its new-found independence by taking transparent political decisions,” Hasan said. “Its actions risk a backlash that could allow future governments to limit its independence in the name of good governance.”
Relations between Pakistan and the United States remained abysmal through much of 2012 over the 2011 “Salala attack.” The US carried out about 48 aerial drone strikes during 2012 on suspected al Qaeda and Taliban members near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. These strikes resulted in claims of large numbers of civilian casualties, but lack of access to the conflict areas has prevented independent verification.
“CIA drone strikes continued to generate controversy, outrage, and civilian casualties in Pakistan,” Hasan said. “So long as the US refuses public accountability for CIA drone strikes, the agency should not be conducting them at all.”