In the midst of the world fighting a grim battle against corona virus, COVID-19, spokesman of China’s permanent representative at the United Nations made a reference to Jammu and Kashmir, yet again, the other day at the behest of Pakistan. He raised objection to Jammu and Kashmir being turned into a Union Territory by the Indian Government.
Though there is nothing new in what Pakistan has said and the counter fired by India, the timing makes it ominous. Instead of focusing on preventing the spread of the deadly virus in his country which is killing thousands of people the world over, Prime Minister Imran Khan is still trying to play the Kashmir card to divert public attention. It is nothing more than a fig leaf attempt to hide the facts.
The world is aware of how Pakistan has been trampling the freedom movement in Baluchistan for nearly three decades now. The latest instance to underscore this is the rising fear about the sudden disappearance on 2nd March of the exiled Baloch journalist Sajid Hussain, popularly known as Sajid Baluch, in Sweden.
He had escaped Pakistani fury in Baluchistan in 2012 and five years later took shelter in Sweden since 2017. He has been writing about Human Rights violations in Baluchistan and unexplained disappearances in the province at the hands of Pakistani Army and intelligence agencies. Though it is the responsibility of the Swedish Government to locate Sajid Hussain, the apprehension is that Pakistani agencies would be involved in the disappearance. More than a month has passed and yet there is no trace of Sajid Hussain.
There is nothing wrong in expressing concern about Human Rights violations in any part of the world but to be genuinely qualified for it, one’s own record needs to be above board. As Ms.Sulema Jahangir, one of the leading advocates of Pakistan, wrote in Karachi daily, Dawn, “The laws applicable to the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan have shifted from being neutral to blatantly discriminatory.” It applies to laws across the board from Hudood Laws, Zakat, evacuee property, domicile and nationality to offences against religion.
The European Commission has noted “a serious deterioration of media freedom in Pakistan”. Instead of addressing the concerns expressed by the EU, Pakistan government has further increased its clampdown on the media and the dissenting voices, according to Reema Omer, legal advisor for the international commission of the Jurists.
Take the case of Chief Editor of Jang group, Mir Shakil-ur- Rehman. He was arrested by National Accountability Bureau on 12th March on charges relating to a 34- year- old property deal. Jang group says it is being threatened by the NAB for criticizing the army and the government. And it is not an isolated case. How the Dawn Newspaper was prevented from performing its rightful duties last year is well documented.
Gilgit -Baltistan, part of erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, were not a part of Pakistan administered Kashmir until 1949, much after the partition of India. It became ‘Northern Areas’ only in 1970. The people there have always resisted the move to make the area a part of Pakistan. Has Pakistan ever bothered to listen to the will of the people there? And does it listen to the people of Sindh who too want to be independent of Pakistani control? Did not the Pakistani Army kill hundreds of thousands of Bengalis in former East Pakistan before it became a separate country called Bangladesh? If this is the position, does it lie in Pakistan’s mouth to raise its voice against India over the changes it made in the status of Jammu and Kashmir last year? Imran Khan and the military establishment in Pakistan are best advised to get rid of their Kashmir obsession and devote their energies for the betterment of the people of Pakistan. Earlier they do it, the better it will be.
The story about forced conversions is no different. Minor girls belonging to minority communities, particularly Hindus, are forced to marry a Muslim and convert to Islam. Though Sindh Government tried twice to put a ban on such conversions for girls below the age of 18 years, the state Governor succumbed to the pressure by the extremists and refused to sign the bill into law after it was unanimously passed by the provincial Assembly.
—– by Ashok Handoo