Daily Times

Though our governments never fail to disappoint when it comes to catching and bringing murderers to justice, a mildly positive gesture was on display on Wednesday when the Sindh government ordered to constitute a committee that will probe into the case of two Hindu brothers who were murdered in Umerkot almost two months ago. The only eyewitness to the occurrence was their third brother who later on committed suicide. The incident, in which the victims were shot several times in an apparent robbery attempt, drew the attention of the public when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Lal Malhi and its Vice President Shah Mehmood Qureshi brought the issue to parliament. Not that parliament moved and did something productive, but the Sindh government did form a committee to probe into the matter. Much to the victims’ families disappointment and betrayal of public expectations, the committee came up with virtually nothing and not a single perpetrator was identified, let alone brought to justice. Thank God for those hundreds of people from the Hindu community who demonstrated in front of Karachi Press Club against these killings, and civil society and trade unionists who did not let the matter go unresolved and forced the government to look into the matter again immediately. Finally, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah signed an agreement with a delegation consisting of several civil society activists and trade unionists to form a new committee under DIG Abdul Khaliq Shaikh that will inquire into the pending case and will submit its report within five days.

The kind of alienated and miserable life the minorities in Pakistan are living and the cruel disregard they receive from government officials hardly needs any proof that their plight is going unheard and unaddressed. It has become virtually a common practice for Hindu girls in Sindh being forcibly converted to Islam. The Hindu community generally is targeted consistently and frequently. It is unsurprising that many of these alienated people have been forced to leave this country and go to neighbouring India. The condition of other religious minorities across the country is no different, where Sikhs, Christians and Ahmedis are being targeted. Belated though it may be, it is nevertheless a welcome sign that the Sindh government is not wholly desensitised and has lent an ear to the plight of these minorities. Hopefully sooner rather than later, it will now unveil the culprits behind this and bring them to justice. g

Drones again

Another drone strike seems to have found its target on Wednesday when it took down as many as 10 militants near the Afghan border in northwestern Pakistan in the area of Datta Khel. Reports suggest that there were two foreigners, Uzbek nationals, amongst the fatalities. In response to this attack, the usual din and noise has been issued by the government through the Foreign Office (FO). The FO has condemned the incident in clear terms, saying drone strikes are not welcome in the country. However, one cannot help but ask: why is the FO issuing condemnations at a time when the Pakistan army could use all the help it can get?
We are in the throes of a full-fledged military operation against the militants in North Waziristan. Operation Zarb-e-Azb has been ongoing since June this year with the objective to completely eliminate terrorist hideouts and militants from our tribal areas. That drone attacks can be very helpful and, hence, their welcome should not be a fact so easily dismissed. Our troops are stretched; everything from the floods that have hit Punjab hard this year to the security needed for the ongoing dharnas (sit-ins) in the capital city of Islamabad to the manpower needed to fight the militants in North Waziristan, all these situations demand the presence of military personnel. Drone attacks are precision machines known to cause less collateral damage than other weapons of war. The whole point, whether through a military operation conducted by the Pakistan army or drone attacks conducted by our ally the US, is to rid Pakistan of this militant plague. What is the FO crying foul about?
It has always been the case that our government representatives have said one thing in front of the public to placate the masses but have always remained silent behind the scenes when it comes to the drone strikes. That is because they themselves know that drones will get the job they are too scared of doing themselves, done. The FO may be ruffling its feathers for public show but the drone strikes, if applied at the right time, can be very effective. The militants are receiving a double pounding this way: from the ground and from the air. This is the kind of termination strategy we need and no amount of huffing and puffing by the government is going to change this fact. *