Pakistan raising voice against atrocities is like a wolf in sheep’s clothing
   17-Dec-2018

  
 
Reacting onto the killings of seven stone pelters at the encounter site, where three terrorists were killed, the newly elected Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan said “We will raise issue of India’s human rights violations in Kashmir and demand UNSC to fulfill its J&K plebiscite commitment”. The Kashmir issue raked up by the Prime Minister of Pakistan was also smacking the panchance of the country to usurp the Indian territories through false propaganda. It seems that the PM of Pakistan has forgotten that his country has illegally occupied the territories of Jammu and Kashmir and it must vacate those areas instead of calling Kashmir an issue. It is for the reminder of people like him that India went to UNSC for complaining about the aggression of Pakistan and not for any dispute on the state of Jammu and Kashmir but false discourses propagated by Pakistan and its proxies changed the issue of aggression to the issue of dispute. The testimony of it can be found in the speech of Sheikh Abdullah as well.
 
 
As far as the ranting of atrocities are concerned the Pakistan Army killed more than 20000 people in one day during 1947 onslaught on innocent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. Even today the atrocities are committed by Pakistan against its own countrymen and the present chanting about atrocities by him present not less than a wolf in sheep’s clothing. About the ranting of the UNSC’s commitment on Kashmir, Imran Khan must remember that the UNSC offered three steps to resolve the problem at Kashmir. These steps were:
 
  • In the first step, Pakistan was asked to use its "best endeavours" to secure the withdrawal of all its tribesmen and Pakistani nationals from Jammu and Kashmir, putting an end to the fighting in the state.
 
  • In the second step, India was asked to "progressively reduce" its forces to the minimum level required for keeping law and order. It laid down principles that India should follow in administering law and order in consultation with the Commission, using local personnel as far as possible.
 
  • In the third step, India was asked to ensure that all the major political parties were invited to participate in the state government at the ministerial level, essentially forming a coalition cabinet. India should then appoint a Plebiscite Administrator nominated by the United Nations, who would have a range of powers including powers to deal with the two countries and ensure a free and impartial plebiscite.
 
 
The resolution also called for measures be taken for return of refugees, for the release of political prisoners and for political freedom. In this resolution on Jammu and Kashmir, the UNSC clearly revealed that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir belongs to India, when it asked the Pakistan to remove its forces from the state and allowed India to keep the forces required for maintaining law and order in the state. But it seems that like his predecessor the present PM of Pakistan wanted to misguide the entire world. Pakistan must vacate the areas illegally occupied by it since 1947, if it is genuinely interested in following the UNSC resolution on Kashmir. But there a doubt that the Prime Minister of Pakistan has the guts to do that. Therefore, his ranting about Kashmir issue and human rights concerns are not more than a mere farce.
 
Now, coming to the Pakistan with its record on human rights:
 
 
  • The country declares itself being an Islamic Republic of Pakistan and it also has blasphemy law that allows state sponsored discrimination and oppression. This means the legal recourse is not available in majority of the cases for religious minority. The tyranny can be found in the words of Khawaja Nazimuddin, the 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan, who stated: "I do not agree that religion is a private affair of the individual nor do I agree that in an Islamic state every citizen has identical rights, no matter what his caste, creed or faith be. The constitution of Pakistan has been changed several times in its short history, with Islamization being the driving factor. Non-Sunni Muslims have to face religious discrimination in both the public and private spheres (for example – non Muslims cannot hold any of the top positions in the country's government). The human rights violation of the Ahmadiyya has been systematic and state-sponsored. Attacks against Shia Muslims, who make up between 15-20% of Pakistani Muslims, have been carried out by terrorist organizations such as the TTP and LeJ very often. Discrimination between Muslim and non-Muslim and many other violations are routinely reported from the country. Religious minorities are facing several restrictions in politics. In Pakistan, 1.5% of the population is Christian. Pakistani law mandates that any "blasphemies" of the Quran are to be met with punishment. Security forces routinely violate the human rights in the course of counter terrorism operations in Balochistan and elsewhere. Suspects are frequently detained without charge and or convicted without a fair trial. Thousands of people rounded up as suspected terrorists continue to languish in illegal military detention without being produced in court or being prosecuted.
 
  • Military coups in Pakistan are commonplace, and for most of its history after independence it has been ruled by military dictators who declare themselves president. In 2010, Foreign Policy ranked Pakistan as number ten on its Failed States Index, placing it in the "critical" category with such other failed or failing states as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Somalia. Pakistan consistently figures near the top of the list of failed states year after year. Freedom House rated Pakistan as "Not Free" in its report of 2013. Websites such as YouTube and many others were in the past blocked by the government for violating blasphemy laws. Websites which are deemed to criticize the government or the military, expose human rights violations of minorities and perceived as blasphemous are all regularly blocked. Pakistan's military intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and the law enforcement have been accused of arresting and kidnapping political leaders who have demanded more autonomy or freedom from Pakistan.
 
  • Domestic violence is an important social issue in Pakistan, especially because of allegations that the Pakistani government has not done enough to stem the problem from the country. An estimated 5000 women are killed per year from domestic violence, with thousands of others maimed or disabled. Rape in Pakistan came to international attention after the politically sanctioned rape of Mukhtaran Bibi. The group War Against Rape (WAR) has documented the severity of rape in Pakistan, and the indifference of police to it. According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index, an estimated 21,34,900 people are enslaved in modern-day Pakistan, or 1.13% of the population. 
 
  • The freedom of the press is not allowed in the country and any reports critical of the government policy or critical of the military are censored. Journalists face widespread threats and violence making Pakistan one of the worst countries to be a journalist in, with 61 being killed since September 2001 and at least 6 murdered in 2013 alone. 
 
  • As of April 2012, Pakistan did not provide a legal system for registration of marriages for certain minorities including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Bahá'í. Denial of recognition of Hindu marriages is often used to intimidate and harass Hindus. Married Hindu women have been forcibly kidnapped and married to Muslims, and are left without legal recourse due to inability to prove their previous marriage. This makes it difficult for Hindus to obtain the Computerized National Identity Card. The increasing Islamization has caused many Hindus to leave Hinduism and seek emancipation by converting to other faiths such as Buddhism and Christianity. Such Islamization include the blasphemy laws, which make it dangerous for religious minorities to express themselves freely and engage freely in religious and cultural activities. The population of Hindus has declined from 15% of the population of West Pakistan (current Pakistan) in 1947 to 1.5% today. 
 
  • Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) is cited to indicate that dozens have disappeared after their arrests in Pakistan-held Kashmir. According to the report "persons are arrested and disappeared if they refuse to join or try to leave the forces engaged in the “Jihad” inside Indian-held Kashmir or do not provide information to the intelligence agencies about the movements of people across the border. Anyone who wants to take part in public life in Azad Kashmir has to sign a pledge of loyalty to Pakistan, while anyone who publicly supports or peacefully works for an independent Kashmir faces persecution. 
 
 
All these facts present that the situation in Pakistan is much more serious but the incumbent government is not working anything for its improvement. Surprisingly, Pakistan PM is lecturing to one of the largest democracies while it ignores the gravity of the problem within his own country. It is better that Pakistan would take some guidance from India on the issue of human rights and adopt the same in its practice.