LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed deep sorrow at the death of at least 55 young men from Quetta’s Hazara community when a boat carrying around 250 people, 170 of them from Pakistan, capsized off Indonesia.
HRCP has called upon Islamabad to help the families learn about the fate of the passengers as well as urgently address reasons that force Hazaras and other people from Balochistan to leave Pakistan even in the face of grave danger to their lives.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the commission said, “Pakistani passengers from Balochistan were believed to be unemployed young men looking for a way to improve their life as well as businessmen who felt insecure amid growing incidents of kidnappings for ransom in the province, particularly in Quetta. HRCP sympathises with the bereaved families and would investigate the matter further.”
The statement read, “HRCP also calls upon the government to take a long hard look at the state of affairs in Balochistan and reflect on the reasons that compel young men to take such grave risks in order to escape persecution, insecurity and poverty. The government must also identify and punish those who contributed to the death of the boat’s passengers by illegally ferrying them across borders.” pr
Daily Times
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