It will not be an exaggeration to assert that the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. In the year 1982, General Ne Win’s government purposely enacted the infamous Burmese Citizenship Law, which failed to recognise the Rohingya as one of the ‘Eight national races’ in Myanmar, thus unfairly stripping them of their citizenship rights. Since the year 1978, the Rohingyas are coping ruthless military crackdowns. They have been subjected to persecution, torture and inhumane treatment. However, the ongoing 2016-2017 military crackdown is proving itself to be the worst as the same has now transformed into a full-fledged genocide.
There is no cavil with the proposition that the pitiless acts of Myanmar government deserve severe condemnation. Nonetheless, quite unexpectedly, the international community has almost shown complete indifference towards this critical issue. The United Nations has miserably failed to stop Burmese Army from committing heinous war crimes against the Rohingyas. A small firing incident in streets of Paris or London attracts more attention of the developed world then, what I would call, the ongoing systematic and premeditated cleansing of Rohingyas.
History teaches us that a person who stands against injustices, oppression and subjugation is often worshiped as a hero. He becomes symbol of strength, valour and determination. It is heartening to see people of Pakistan vociferously raising their voice against the atrocities of the Burmese army. But the religious right in particular has impressively staged hostile demonstrations and aggressive protests in solidarity with the Rohingyas. Through these demonstrations, different demands have been proposed, for instance, end of diplomatic relations with Myanmar, jihad against Burmese army, active role of Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) and Intervention by Pakistan Army.
Amidst violent protests for rights of Rohingyas, the minorities in Pakistan continue to be persecuted, maltreated, mortified and, in extreme situations, slaughtered in cold blood
The response of the society in general and religious right in particular over Rohingya crisis, if viewed from a different angle or perspective, exposes the acute double standards which are widely prevalent in our society. Same classes of people on almost identical issues are rendering diverse opinions. The same people who, nowadays, are raucously condemning the atrocities in Myanmar usually don’t utter a single word when heinous acts of terrorism are perpetrated against minorities in their own country. Even when they speak, they quite deviously shift all the blame on the foreign agencies and completely exonerate the local perpetrators (banned outfits), abettors and apologists of extremist elements.
Members of the Shia community all over Pakistan are being methodically targeted. It is difficult to forget the depressing memories of the 2012 Kohistan Shia Massacre, 2013 Abbas Town Carnage, 2012 Parachinar Twin Market Bombing, 2014 Shikarpur Bomb Blast and the 2015 Karachi Bus Shooting. It is a bitter reality that an attack on Shias in Quetta and Parachinar fails to bring forth the optimum level of national remorse, media coverage and censure.
Even among the Shias, it’s the Hazaras of Quetta who are facing the worst kind of persecution. They are regularly targeted by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and other banned terror organisations. Since 2003, Hazaras are being targeted. Most notables among those attacks are the 2013 explosion which killed 115 and wounded 270 Hazaras and the 2013 Kirani Road bomb attack which killed 73 and wounded 180 Hazaras. The attitude of the state towards suffering of Hazaras can be judged from the fact that once Aslam Raisani (the then Chief Minister of Balochistan), after attack on Hazaras, said “Population of Balochistan is in millions, 40 dead in Mastung, is no big deal, I can send truckload of tissue paper for the aggrieved to wipe their tears.”
A few days ago, a 17 year-old Christian boy was lynched to death at a school in Burewala. According to father of the victim, his son was daily tortured in school over his Christian faith. Unprovoked and unwarranted attacks on Christian community is not a new phenomenon in Pakistan.
The persecution of minorities explicitly disregards the vision of Jinnah and ideology of Pakistan. It also patently violates dictates of Constitution. Article 20 of the Constitution of Pakistan confers on every citizen, the right to profess, practice and propagate religion. In our constitutional parlance, the minorities enjoy a special status, so it needs to be noted that the very genesis of Pakistan was grounded in the fortification of the religious rights of all citizens, particularly the minorities. However, it seems this right only exists in theory as its practical manifestation is yet to be seen, almost all the minorities, including but not limited to Shias and Christians, are defenceless and thus soft targets. For all the wrong reasons, the tumor of sectarianism is blossoming in our society. Moreover, the callousness of the authorities towards this critical issue offers a damning indictment of the state, its military and security agencies.
The conscious hypocrisy of the society in general and state in particular needs to end. Amidst violent protests for rights of Rohingyas, the minorities in Pakistan continue to be persecuted, maltreated, mortified and in extreme situations slaughtered in cold blood. On one side of the scale, the society posses a soft heart and feel the pain of Rohingyas; however, on the other side of the scale the same society remains totally indifferent towards the plight of minorities within Pakistan.
The writer is a lawyer based in Lahore
Published in Daily Times, September 29th 2017.