Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Leaving is better than staying to face death
August 20, 2012
Muhammad Khani
I want to talk about my people, the Hazara people. The emigration of Hazara people started about 200 years ago. In the 1890s, the British-backed Amir of Afghanistan, Abdur Rahman Khan, killed 64 per cent of Hazaras, by some accounts, because they were Shiite Muslim and had different faces from those of other nations in Afghanistan.
The Taliban regime also killed many Hazaras for the same reason. After they captured the town of Mazar-e-Sharif in 1998, the Taliban killed 4000 ordinary Hazara villagers in one day.
Under the current President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, it is still going on. One example is the suicide bomb attacks on the Ashura [day of mourning] commemoration in 2011, which killed 150 Hazara Shiites in Kabul.
Because of these problems, people have long emigrated to a safer place.
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At first they emigrated to Iran and Pakistan. But in Iran they have never been accepted. In Pakistan, every day, the Sunni militant organisation Lashkar-e-Jhangvi kills Hazara Shiite Muslims for the same reasons we have always been killed.
Just last week, two innocent 10-year-old boys were killed, and on Thursday three more people were killed.
When Hazara people hear about Australia - that they accept asylum seekers - they become happy that we have found a safe place to live.
Many Hazara people have been to [the United Nations' refugee agency] UNHCR offices but got no response from anyone. After that, people started to reach Australia illegally. It was a great source of hope for them to get there.
Afghanistan's situation is getting worse every day. The government does not have any control during the night outside of the capital, Kabul - so just think about what the situation is in other cities.
Democracy in Afghanistan exists only on paper. Nothing more. No one obeys even the simple rules of democratic government.
When NATO's army said it would be leaving Afghanistan in 2014, everything in Afghanistan stopped. People don't build anything any more and are sending their money out of the country. Most think the Taliban will come back after NATO troops leave.
In my case, I had two choices - one bad and one worse. The worse way was to stay there and uselessly die. The bad way was to find a safe place in Australia. If I had any other choice, I would never come in this way.
I want to say to Australians that we are seeking justice and safety. We need help. We are human and we want the rights of human beings.
The feeling of being targeted by your enemy, who will kill you, is very hard to describe. That is what forced me to select this risky way out.
Muhammad Khani, 22, is an electrician from Afghanistan who has left to come to Australia. He is waiting in the Indonesian town of Cisarua for a boat to take him to Christmas Island. He says he will come, despite the federal government's harsh new laws, because he has no choice.
SMH
I want to talk about my people, the Hazara people. The emigration of Hazara people started about 200 years ago. In the 1890s, the British-backed Amir of Afghanistan, Abdur Rahman Khan, killed 64 per cent of Hazaras, by some accounts, because they were Shiite Muslim and had different faces from those of other nations in Afghanistan.
The Taliban regime also killed many Hazaras for the same reason. After they captured the town of Mazar-e-Sharif in 1998, the Taliban killed 4000 ordinary Hazara villagers in one day.
Under the current President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, it is still going on. One example is the suicide bomb attacks on the Ashura [day of mourning] commemoration in 2011, which killed 150 Hazara Shiites in Kabul.
Because of these problems, people have long emigrated to a safer place.
Advertisement
At first they emigrated to Iran and Pakistan. But in Iran they have never been accepted. In Pakistan, every day, the Sunni militant organisation Lashkar-e-Jhangvi kills Hazara Shiite Muslims for the same reasons we have always been killed.
Just last week, two innocent 10-year-old boys were killed, and on Thursday three more people were killed.
When Hazara people hear about Australia - that they accept asylum seekers - they become happy that we have found a safe place to live.
Many Hazara people have been to [the United Nations' refugee agency] UNHCR offices but got no response from anyone. After that, people started to reach Australia illegally. It was a great source of hope for them to get there.
Afghanistan's situation is getting worse every day. The government does not have any control during the night outside of the capital, Kabul - so just think about what the situation is in other cities.
Democracy in Afghanistan exists only on paper. Nothing more. No one obeys even the simple rules of democratic government.
When NATO's army said it would be leaving Afghanistan in 2014, everything in Afghanistan stopped. People don't build anything any more and are sending their money out of the country. Most think the Taliban will come back after NATO troops leave.
In my case, I had two choices - one bad and one worse. The worse way was to stay there and uselessly die. The bad way was to find a safe place in Australia. If I had any other choice, I would never come in this way.
I want to say to Australians that we are seeking justice and safety. We need help. We are human and we want the rights of human beings.
The feeling of being targeted by your enemy, who will kill you, is very hard to describe. That is what forced me to select this risky way out.
Muhammad Khani, 22, is an electrician from Afghanistan who has left to come to Australia. He is waiting in the Indonesian town of Cisarua for a boat to take him to Christmas Island. He says he will come, despite the federal government's harsh new laws, because he has no choice.
SMH
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Shia killings on the rise
From the Newspaper |
Thursday’s execution-style killing of Shia citizens in Mansehra district and the killing of Hazaras in Quetta were only the latest incidents in what is now a clear trend: targeting innocent members of the sect — not necessarily members of any political or religious organisation — and killing them for no reason other than their religious affiliation. The Mansehra attack had a particularly disturbing aspect to it, with passengers made to show their identity papers and those suspected of beingShia, on the basis of their names or tribal affiliations, being picked out and killed. Like other recent sectarian killings in Balochistan, Kohistan and Orakzai, the approach used resembled ethnic cleansing in its chilling focus on identifying and killing innocent citizens simply because of their membership to a particular community. And while the Hazara community under attack in Balochistan is relatively small and powerless, the same is not true of Shia communities elsewhere in the country. If not arrested, this trend could well spiral out of control, turning the issue into a much larger conflict.
Meanwhile, where is the outrage from the security forces and politicians? We know these groups are willing to launch aggressive messaging campaigns when they wish to. Take, for example, the army’s response to Salala, the PML-N’s reaction to the government’s refusal to write the ‘Swiss letter’, the ruling party’s defensive posture on threats to democracy or the PTI’s campaign against drone strikes. And while it is unclear what judicial activism can achieve in such cases beyond raising their profile, where is the judiciary that otherwise takes suo moto notice of everything from the price of sugar to violence in Karachi? As each of these groups tries to focus on topics they think will boost their populist or nationalist credentials, the campaign to eradicate a minority community continues to receive less official attention than it should.
Beyond the messaging failure, little appears to have been done to confront the physical danger. Providing security escorts to pilgrims’ buses and changing the routes Shia travellers take has not been enough. Whether combating the problem is a matter of improving intelligence-gathering to prevent attacks, pre-emptively going after the groups that are carrying them out, improving policing in vulnerable areas or other intelligence or security measures, further delays are inexcusable. The state needs to demonstrate what it is doing to combat this threat. If not, Pakistan may as well give up any pretence of being a state for anyone other than its majority religious community.
Thursday’s execution-style killing of Shia citizens in Mansehra district and the killing of Hazaras in Quetta were only the latest incidents in what is now a clear trend: targeting innocent members of the sect — not necessarily members of any political or religious organisation — and killing them for no reason other than their religious affiliation. The Mansehra attack had a particularly disturbing aspect to it, with passengers made to show their identity papers and those suspected of beingShia, on the basis of their names or tribal affiliations, being picked out and killed. Like other recent sectarian killings in Balochistan, Kohistan and Orakzai, the approach used resembled ethnic cleansing in its chilling focus on identifying and killing innocent citizens simply because of their membership to a particular community. And while the Hazara community under attack in Balochistan is relatively small and powerless, the same is not true of Shia communities elsewhere in the country. If not arrested, this trend could well spiral out of control, turning the issue into a much larger conflict.
Meanwhile, where is the outrage from the security forces and politicians? We know these groups are willing to launch aggressive messaging campaigns when they wish to. Take, for example, the army’s response to Salala, the PML-N’s reaction to the government’s refusal to write the ‘Swiss letter’, the ruling party’s defensive posture on threats to democracy or the PTI’s campaign against drone strikes. And while it is unclear what judicial activism can achieve in such cases beyond raising their profile, where is the judiciary that otherwise takes suo moto notice of everything from the price of sugar to violence in Karachi? As each of these groups tries to focus on topics they think will boost their populist or nationalist credentials, the campaign to eradicate a minority community continues to receive less official attention than it should.
Beyond the messaging failure, little appears to have been done to confront the physical danger. Providing security escorts to pilgrims’ buses and changing the routes Shia travellers take has not been enough. Whether combating the problem is a matter of improving intelligence-gathering to prevent attacks, pre-emptively going after the groups that are carrying them out, improving policing in vulnerable areas or other intelligence or security measures, further delays are inexcusable. The state needs to demonstrate what it is doing to combat this threat. If not, Pakistan may as well give up any pretence of being a state for anyone other than its majority religious community.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Sectarian scourge
Editorial
Saturday, August 18, 2012
From Print Edition
Thursday morning’s brutal sectarian massacre of 22 passengers travelling through the Babusar Top area of Mansehra district was a bloody iteration of a chilling pattern of attacks against religious minorities, including members of Muslim minority sects. In the early hours of the morning, terrorists ambushed four buses, hauled off passengers, checked their national identity cards and summarily executed the Shias. A spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the killings. While there was legitimate outrage across the country over Thursday’s Kamra airbase attack and the subsequent loss of lives and damage to national assets, the slaughter of innocent civilians belonging to the Shia community was not met with quite the same amount of indignation. In fact, if the past is a benchmark, the 22 victims of Babusar Top will have died as insignificantly as they had lived, with no one held responsible or answerable for their deaths. In a state where the concept of national security does not yet incorporate the crucial element of human security, the symbols of state authority seem to matter more than the citizens whose protection and well-being constitutes the very raison d’être of the state. Thus, while the airbase attack unleashed a debate about the militants’ determination to target Pakistan’s most sensitive installations and raised questions about their safety, the more elemental questions were lost in the cacophony: are Pakistan’s citizens safe? Can Pakistan protect its minorities? Is any part of Pakistan free from the scourge of sectarian terror?
From Print Edition
Thursday morning’s brutal sectarian massacre of 22 passengers travelling through the Babusar Top area of Mansehra district was a bloody iteration of a chilling pattern of attacks against religious minorities, including members of Muslim minority sects. In the early hours of the morning, terrorists ambushed four buses, hauled off passengers, checked their national identity cards and summarily executed the Shias. A spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the killings. While there was legitimate outrage across the country over Thursday’s Kamra airbase attack and the subsequent loss of lives and damage to national assets, the slaughter of innocent civilians belonging to the Shia community was not met with quite the same amount of indignation. In fact, if the past is a benchmark, the 22 victims of Babusar Top will have died as insignificantly as they had lived, with no one held responsible or answerable for their deaths. In a state where the concept of national security does not yet incorporate the crucial element of human security, the symbols of state authority seem to matter more than the citizens whose protection and well-being constitutes the very raison d’être of the state. Thus, while the airbase attack unleashed a debate about the militants’ determination to target Pakistan’s most sensitive installations and raised questions about their safety, the more elemental questions were lost in the cacophony: are Pakistan’s citizens safe? Can Pakistan protect its minorities? Is any part of Pakistan free from the scourge of sectarian terror?
As things stand, this is the third attack this year that has specifically targeted Shias on buses. Meanwhile, Hazara Shias are routinely murdered in Balochistan, including the three more killed on Thursday, while sectarian violence has become a regular feature of life in Mansehra District, Kurram Agency, Dera Ismail Khan as well as south and central Punjab. The country’s financial hub of Karachi too has witnessed more than its fair share of sectarian attacks in recent days, with a blast near a bus carrying Shias to a rally on Friday killing at least one. The thick sectarian tide in the overall wave of militancy sweeping Pakistan can be explained by the fact that sectarian groups here have linked up ideologically with global jihadism. Overtly sectarian and jihadi elements are also increasingly seen occupying the same stage as mainstream religious parties. Meanwhile, those behind repeated acts of violence - such as the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi - are rarely caught or punished. Indeed, killing minorities in Pakistan seems to have become fair game while those responsible for securing citizens remain helpless, leaving minority communities to believe the security establishment is protecting the perpetrators. The mysterious escape of the local head of the LeJ, Usman Saifullah, and a key leader, Shafiq Rind, from a very well guarded Anti-Terrorist Force jail in Quetta Cantonment, is a case in point. A deadly pattern is emerging: terrorists are on a murderous rampage against Pakistan’s minority sects while the authorities have failed to prove themselves capable of taking them on. Virtually all terrorist outfits operating in Pakistan have donned the religious cloak. It is this criminal abuse of religion that the state must check against. And yet, the state is doing nothing to identify, capture, prosecute and punish those involved in sectarian terrorism. Thus, the scandal here is not just that Shia after Shia is being killed; it is that the state has become a silent onlooker in the massacre. Flaccid behaviour is too often empowering for a cunning enemy. Today, this logic is creating a dangerous moment in Pakistan where those on a killing spree are asserting themselves for little reason beyond the conviction that they can, while those who can stop them do nothing. In Pakistan, the triumph of evil may have become more and more possible under a silent, impotent state emasculated by religious extremists.
Ban Ki-moon condemns Shias killings in Pakistan
Pakistani's shift the dead body of a Shia Muslim at a hospital in Ghari Hbibullah in the northwestern district of Mansehra, August 16, 2012.
Fri Aug 17, 2012 10:14AM GMT
The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned the killing of 20 Shia Muslims in a bus attack in northern Pakistan.
In a released statement on Thursday, Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky said the UN leader slammed the "appalling" attack.
"The secretary general expresses his outrage over such deliberate attacks on people due to their religious beliefs in Pakistan," said the statement. "He also extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Pakistan."
Gunmen dragged the Shia passengers off a bus in the northwestern district of Mansehra on Thursday and killed them at point blank range. Several others were injured during the attack. The victims were going from Rawalpindi to Gilgit -- a heavily-Shia-populated area.
Meanwhile, on the same day at least three more Shia Muslims were killed by gunmen in the city of Quetta in the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan.
Following the attack, hundreds of Pakistani people took to the streets in the southern city of Karachi to protest against the killings of Shia Muslims.
Hundreds of Shia Muslims have been killed in various parts of the violence-hit country over the past few months.
MSH/HMV/MA
Sectarian killings, Kamra attack prove Taliban are nobody's friend: HRCP
By PPI
Published: August 17, 2012
Recent Shia killings underline the dangers faced by this minority in Pakistan: HRCP PHOTO: AFP
LAHORE: Condemning the killing of around 25 Shias in Mansehra and three in Quetta, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Friday demanded the concerned authorities to explain their lack of control over the situation.
On August 16, gunmen dragged Shia travellers off buses en route to Rawalpindi from Gilgit and killed them at point blank range.
According to a HRCP statement, the authorities owe an explanation to the people for their inability to crack down on sectarian killers and for their failure in protecting the lives of the citizens.
“HRCP would like to know what words of solace and reassurance the government can offer to the families of the victims and members of a community that is increasingly certain that terrorists get support from within the security agencies,” the statement said.
Drawing similarities between the Shia killings in Gilgit Baltistan and in Kohistan in February, the human rights body stated that the buses were stopped on a main road by men in military uniforms, Shia passengers were separated from the rest and executed.
Equally denouncing the killing of three men belonging to the Hazara community in Quetta on the same day, HRCP stated the events underlined the dangers faced by Shias in Pakistan.
HRCP said that the terrorists managed to strike again only because there were not tracked down after the earlier killings in Kohistan and Quetta.
“The sectarian killings and Kamra attack prove that the Taliban were nobody’s friends and those who had created them, had taken Pakistan down the road of annihilation,” the HRCP stated.
Published: August 17, 2012
Recent Shia killings underline the dangers faced by this minority in Pakistan: HRCP PHOTO: AFP
LAHORE: Condemning the killing of around 25 Shias in Mansehra and three in Quetta, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Friday demanded the concerned authorities to explain their lack of control over the situation.
On August 16, gunmen dragged Shia travellers off buses en route to Rawalpindi from Gilgit and killed them at point blank range.
According to a HRCP statement, the authorities owe an explanation to the people for their inability to crack down on sectarian killers and for their failure in protecting the lives of the citizens.
“HRCP would like to know what words of solace and reassurance the government can offer to the families of the victims and members of a community that is increasingly certain that terrorists get support from within the security agencies,” the statement said.
Drawing similarities between the Shia killings in Gilgit Baltistan and in Kohistan in February, the human rights body stated that the buses were stopped on a main road by men in military uniforms, Shia passengers were separated from the rest and executed.
Equally denouncing the killing of three men belonging to the Hazara community in Quetta on the same day, HRCP stated the events underlined the dangers faced by Shias in Pakistan.
HRCP said that the terrorists managed to strike again only because there were not tracked down after the earlier killings in Kohistan and Quetta.
“The sectarian killings and Kamra attack prove that the Taliban were nobody’s friends and those who had created them, had taken Pakistan down the road of annihilation,” the HRCP stated.
HRCP condemns Shia killings
Saturday, August 18, 2012
LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Friday condemned Thursday’s killing of 25 Shias from Gilgit-Baltistan and target killing of another three Shias in Quetta. In a meeting, the commission said, “The HRCP is appalled that terrorists have once again succeeded in targeting without any difficulty Shia Muslims on their way to Gilgit-Baltistan.
Thursday’s attack was similar to the one carried out in Kohistan in February in more than one respect. Again men in military uniforms stopped buses on a main road. Shia passengers were separated from the rest and executed. Many transporters had started using the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad route instead of the Karakoram Highway after the February killings, from
which the region had yet to recover. Thursday’s attack occurred on this changed route.” HRCP also said, “Other than claims of responsibility made by Taliban or other groups of extremist militants, the authorities appear to be clueless about who the attackers were or how to stop them. Killing
of three men belonging to Quetta’s long suffering Hazara Shia community on Thursday further underlined the hazards that Shia Muslims face in Pakistan. Such targeted killing of people because of their religious beliefs is unfortunately no longer an anomaly in Pakistan. Those keen on creating new minorities in Pakistan have made sure of that. However, HRCP
has no hesitation in stating that the terrorists managed to strike on Thursday only because those behind earlier target killings in Kohistan and Quetta had not been tracked down. The killings are doubtless the work of those who want to destroy Pakistan, but a failure to nab and punish the
killers is also contributing to the same end.” The commission said, “The attack on Kamra airbase on the same day provided evidence. If further evidence was needed that Taliban were nobody’s friends and those who had created this monster had taken Pakistan down the road of annihilation. The authorities owe an explanation to the people for their inability to crack down on sectarian killers.” staff report
LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Friday condemned Thursday’s killing of 25 Shias from Gilgit-Baltistan and target killing of another three Shias in Quetta. In a meeting, the commission said, “The HRCP is appalled that terrorists have once again succeeded in targeting without any difficulty Shia Muslims on their way to Gilgit-Baltistan.
Thursday’s attack was similar to the one carried out in Kohistan in February in more than one respect. Again men in military uniforms stopped buses on a main road. Shia passengers were separated from the rest and executed. Many transporters had started using the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad route instead of the Karakoram Highway after the February killings, from
which the region had yet to recover. Thursday’s attack occurred on this changed route.” HRCP also said, “Other than claims of responsibility made by Taliban or other groups of extremist militants, the authorities appear to be clueless about who the attackers were or how to stop them. Killing
of three men belonging to Quetta’s long suffering Hazara Shia community on Thursday further underlined the hazards that Shia Muslims face in Pakistan. Such targeted killing of people because of their religious beliefs is unfortunately no longer an anomaly in Pakistan. Those keen on creating new minorities in Pakistan have made sure of that. However, HRCP
has no hesitation in stating that the terrorists managed to strike on Thursday only because those behind earlier target killings in Kohistan and Quetta had not been tracked down. The killings are doubtless the work of those who want to destroy Pakistan, but a failure to nab and punish the
killers is also contributing to the same end.” The commission said, “The attack on Kamra airbase on the same day provided evidence. If further evidence was needed that Taliban were nobody’s friends and those who had created this monster had taken Pakistan down the road of annihilation. The authorities owe an explanation to the people for their inability to crack down on sectarian killers.” staff report
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