Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

SSridhar
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by SSridhar »

Our scared minority communities - Book review by Khaled Ahmed

Thread not Scissors: Common Spiritual Heritage for Peace and Harmony
Compiled by Ahmad Salim; South Asia Resource Centre Islamabad 2009
Pp245
Price Rs400


The white patch in our flag are the non-Muslims. There was no one in our midst who objected to this separate white patch which means that there is a tacit Muslim acceptance of ‘separation’ of the non-Muslim. Even the Quaid did not protest who should have because he didn’t want people defined, divided or separated on the basis of religion. ‘Separation’ was something in the air after 1947. And the Muslim League flag had to be modified; so why not do it with a white patch?

If the white patch represented a proportion then it should have been shortened after East Pakistan left us. It should have been widened after we apostatised the Ahmedis and made them non-Muslim. Thank God we have got over our love of the Taliban or we would have had to apostatise a lot of other ‘potentially excludable’ communities to make the flag almost half white. Shia, Ismaili, Bohra and Barelvi all would have found themselves in the white patch.

Ahmad Salim and his authors talk about the Bahais, potentially excludable, but one of the most honourable and lovable communities of Muslims. There are approximately 30,000 of them in Pakistan. After the death of Bahaullah and the inauguration of the ministry of Abdul-Baha, the Bahai community in the Indian subcontinent was split as a consequence of the activities of the followers of Mirza Muhammad Ali who had challenged his half-brother’s right to legitimate leadership.

Abdul-Baha directed a number of prominent emissaries to India, both Persian and Western, to guide the community and encourage teaching. Among these were Mirza Mahmud Zarqani, Aqa Mirza Mahram, Mirza Hasan Adib, Ibin-i-Asdaq, Lua Getsingers Stanndard, Sidney Sprague, Hooper Harris and Harlan Ober. By 1908 these individuals along with a small group of local converts had produced functioning communities in Bombay, Calcutta, Aligarh and Lahore.

The Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahais in Pakistan date from 1904. In 1944, the Karachi Spiritual Assembly sent out pioneers to Lahore and the assembly there was formed between 1945 and 1950. Spiritual Assemblies in Multan, Hyderabad, Sukkur, and Rawalpindi were established later.

The Christians of Pakistan are the largest religious minority in Pakistan. The total number of Christians in Pakistan was at least 2 million in 2008, or 1.1 percent of the population. {This should be incorrect. Two paragraphs later, Khaled Ahmed says that the Hindus make up 2% of the population and yet Christians are claimed as the largest minority ?} Of these, 1.4 million in 1998 were Catholic. However, the current number of Christians is debatable as the Catholic Church record of births contains higher figures than this. In 1998 there were 1.4 million members of the Protestant Church. That yields a total number of Christians at 2.8 million.

The Church of Pakistan is the largest Protestant denomination, which is a union of Anglicans, American Methodists, Scottish Presbyterians and Scandinavian Lutherans. It was formed in 1970. The Presbyterian Church of Pakistan is the third largest Christian denomination and the other Christians come from different indigenous and Pentecostal Free Churches. (p.98)

For centuries, Christians have been a part of this country. According to an estimate more than 90 percent of the country’s Christians reside in Punjab, making them the largest religious minority in the province. Approximately 60 percent of Punjab’s Christians live in the villages. The centuries-old presence of the Christian community in Pakistan is proof of their historical roots in the land where they lived in harmony and peace (p.98)

The history of the churches is an important part of the history of Christianity in the Indian subcontinent. Their history can be traced to several Christian missions from the 16th century onwards. Initially there were four dioceses in the Church of Pakistan, i.e. Karachi, Multan, Lahore and Sialkot; but in 1980, through a special resolution and for better ministerial work, four new dioceses were created: Hyderabad, Raiwind, Faisalabad and Peshawar. There are now 13 dioceses with eight active diocesan bishops and one bishop for the Gulf for Urdu-speaking Christians working there.

The Christian community of Pakistan has always played a vital role in nation-building, from the education to the health sector; from sanitation services to the general useful workforce. The Christian community feels that they cannot participate in the political and social aspects of the society as much as they would like as they feel that the society has not given them a sense of belonging.

Christian schools that were nationalised in 1972 have been returned to the church. The largest, Forman Christian College Lahore, was given back to the Presbyterian Church in 2003. Christians have also developed some outstanding institutions like the United Christian Hospital Lahore, Gujranwala Theological Seminary, St Thomas Theological College Karachi, Edwardes College Peshawar, Mission Hospital Sahiwal, and Kinnaird College for Women in Lahore.

There is a significant Hindu community in Pakistan. Presently Hindus make up 2 percent of Pakistan’s population. This is at least five times the number of Hindus in Britain. Prior to 1947, Hindus constituted 26 percent of the population in areas that comprise Pakistan. The Partition of India was the biggest forced migration of people in human history. After partition, the Hindus population decreased to 15 percent in this region.

Today there are 2.5 million Hindus in Pakistan. The largest Hindu population is in Sindh but there are small Hindu communities all over Pakistan. In Sindh, Hindus are a part of the society. For centuries Hindus and Muslims have lived together in Sindh. They speak the same language and share the same heritage and history. In other parts of the country there have been occasional threats to their property and lives. The authorities rarely intervene to help Hindus and that often makes matters worse.

For Sikhs, there are many historical sites in present-day Pakistan which are very important for the Sikh community. Nankana Sahib has special importance. The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh is located in Lahore. Nankana Sahib has nine Gurdwaras which are associated with different events in Guru Nanak Dev’s life. The town is an important site of pilgrimage for Sikhs from around the world. Each year thousands of Sikhs come to Pakistan from India and different parts of the world to pay homage

But after partition there was a marginal Sikh population left in Pakistan. There was an influx of the Sikh population to Pakistan during the civil war in Afghanistan. There was a Hindu and Sikh minority in Afghanistan and due to porous borders a large number of them fled from their homes in Kabul, Kandahar and Jalalabad to settle in different parts of Pakistan. Among these refugees were the Afghan Sikhs who joined their kinsmen in Peshawar and Lahore.

Harcharan Singh became the first Pakistani Sikh to join the Pakistan Army as a commissioned officer. Another Sikh Gulab Singh was selected as the traffic sub-inspector in Lahore. {The last I heard about Gulab Singh was that he had resigned due to harassment from his Muslim colleagues and higher officers due to his Sikh identity} Both these Sikhs belong to the historic city called Nankana Sahib.
Sikhs have been also encouraged to take part in the politics of the country :lol: as Kalyan Singh Kalyan was elected as the first Sikh provincial assembly member in Pakistan representing the Pakistan People’s Party. (p.225)

Parsis are the most pacific, public-spirited and gifted of Pakistan’s minorities. Bombay emerged as a hub of the community in the 19th century. Regional developments intervened and Sindh became part of the Bombay Presidency, opening new avenues for the Gujarati-speaking business community of Bombay.

Ambrin Hayat writes: “Parsis along with the Gujarati Hindus and Muslims came to Karachi to set up business. Some even went to Thatta and Hyderabad. Some drifted further and settled in Quetta. An adventurous family went to Multan and a few went on to Lahore and a couple to Peshawar.” However a major part of the community settled in Karachi where they lived and prospered with other Gujarati-speaking groups.

Parsi memory takes us back to Iran. Their biggest shrine is there. Seti Pir is situated east of Yezd and it is the shrine that marks the place where Yezdagird’s queen (Shahbanoo Hastbadan), the mother of the princesses, Banu-Pars and Hayat-Banu, herself fleeing from the invaders, jumped into a deep well, together with her two attendants, to save her honour.

Seti Pir is, therefore, regarded as the mother of the other five great Pirs. Avesta is the ancient scared text of the Parsis. Zend Avesta is a commentary on these holy texts. The scripture Avesta is divided into two parts, the Avesta and the Khorda Avesta. Avesta contains Yasna, Vispered and the Vendidad.
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

Not clear if this is dealing with a minority or not as this article is not clear which two Muslim factions are exterminating each other. However going by the past record it would appear to be a battle between the Shia Muslim sect adhering Toori tribe against the Sunni Muslim sect adhering Bangash tribe.

For an Islamic Republic that claims to have been set up as a haven for Muslims of the India Sub-Continent, the degree of indulging in the extermination of others simply for belonging to a different sect of Islam, starkly stands out:
Kurram clashes leave 33 dead

By Our Correspondent

PARACHINAR: At least 33 people were killed and 65 others injured in sectarian clashes between warring groups in various parts of the Kurram agency on Friday night and Saturday. ……………………..

The fighting started in the region 12 days ago over a dispute on construction of bunkers in Khar Kali and Balishkhel.

………………. The 12-day long clashes have left about 89 people dead and 175 injured. ………………….

Dawn
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by Singha »

even the majority is not spared the rod.

IBN

Dhaka: A widow was whipped 202 times and a man 101 times following a fatwa by a religious leader for their alleged involvement in "anti-social activity" in a village in southeastern Bangladesh, prompting local protests and action by the police.

Piara Begum, a widow of 40, and Mamun Miah, 25, were whipped before hundreds of people at Khaiyar in Comilla district on Saturday night.

The woman fell unconscious and was rushed to hospital. Doctors said she was critically injured and needed to be given intensive treatment.

Miah was whipped 101 times, The Daily Star newspaper said on Monday.

Punishment under a fatwa is held illegal as per a high court ruling of 2001 in Bangladesh that has a predominant Sunni Muslim population.

The police arrested six people, including Moulana Mohammed Manirul Islam, a religious leader working in the local madrassa.

Piara Begum filed a case with the Debidwar police station under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

In Pakistan, convert to Islam or get beheaded:
Polish engineer's refusal to convert costs him his life

South Asia Features

By Nadeem Sarwar and Sajjad Malik Jun 29, 2009, 5:28 GMT

Islamabad - Piotr Stanczak did not exhibit the slightest hint of hesitation when the Pakistani Taliban asked him to choose between execution and conversion to Islam. ………………

Deutsche Presse-Agentur via M&C
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

Editorial in the Pakistani newspaper The News reporting that the Shia Muslims are being subject to “what amounts to a genocide in Kurram”.
Kurram clashes

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

……………while the government has essentially stood by and watched, twiddling its' thumbs, there has been what amounts to a genocide in Kurram – the only tribal agency that houses a significant non-Sunni population. The Shias have in some places reportedly been virtually wiped out; those who could do so have fled. ……………..

The News
Separately Pakistani Newspaper Dawn in yet another editorial is reporting that violence pitting Sunni Muslim against Shia Muslim has contributed to 3,000 deaths in Kurram since 2007.

So much for Pakistani claims that Pakistan was formed as a safe haven for the Muslims of the Indian Sub-Continent:
Kurram Agency violence

Dawn Editorial
Tuesday, 30 Jun, 2009 | 07:46 AM PST

…………… Clashes over the weekend between rival tribes led to at least 36 more deaths, the total from 12 days of fighting going up to nearly 90 killed with hundreds injured. Because of the military’s focus on Swat and South Waziristan, the fighting and consequent humanitarian disaster in Kurram Agency seem eclipsed. But the truth is that a minimum of 3,000 people have been killed in the sectarian clashes there that have been going on intermittently since 2007. ………………..

Dawn
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

Minister of State for External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor, on demands that minorities in Pakistan pay jiziya:
Tharoor asks Pak to protect minorities from Taliban

30 Jun 2009, 0341 hrs IST, ET Bureau

“We do expect Pakistan to look after all its people, after all they are citizens of Pakistan. Since Pakistan is in effect in war with Taliban in its own territory, I think it is safe to assume that Pakistan will have no sympathy for such demands from such people”

Economic Times
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

:eek:
Pakistani Muslim Forces 12-year-old Girl to Convert, Marry Him

Police ridicule Christian mother for kidnapping complaint; others demand money, labor.

By Brian Sharma

LAHORE, Pakistan, The Christian mother of a 12-year-old girl in Punjab Province who was kidnapped, coerced into converting to Islam and forcibly married to a 37-year-old Muslim hopes to recover her daughter at a court hearing next week.

The reaction of Pakistani law enforcement authorities to Sajida Masih’s complaint so far – ridiculing her and asserting that there is nothing she can do because her daughter is now a Muslim – does not encourage her hopes of recovering her daughter Huma at next Thursday’s (June 11) hearing. ……………

Christian News Today
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by anupmisra »

Christian families in Kasur hide from angry mobs
LAHORE: At least 110 Christian families, almost 700 people, were forced on Tuesday night to flee Bahmniwala, a village in Kasur, after angry mobs attacked and threatened to burn their houses for allegedly committing blasphemy.
However, locals told Daily Times the problem started when a Christian boy, Arif Mashi, was travelling on a tractor and asked a Muslim boy, Muhammad Riaz, to allow him to pass. When Riaz refused, the two quarrelled.
Following this incident, on Tuesday night, a mob attacked houses of the area’s Christian community with petrol-bombs, destroying their electricity meters and thrashing any Christians they found. On Wednesday, the Muslim community refused to communicate with the Christian community, boycotting their businesses. The Christians who returned to their homes found they had no electricity or drinking water the entire day. “Despite the presence of police, the mosques continued to urge a complete Christian boycott,” Sohail Johnson, chief coordinator of the Sharing Life Ministry, said.
The DCO said Islam did not allow cruelties against minorities.
:roll:
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

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Save victims of Blasphemy Law - Edit in DT
National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), a
human rights body of the Catholic Church in Pakistan, has condemned the attack by local Muslims on houses of Christians in the village Bahmani Wala, district Kasur, Punjab. The incident was provoked by an announcement from the Mosque by a cleric at a nearby village that the Christian inhabitants of Bahmani Wala had shown disrespect to Prophet Muhammad PBUH. The cleric incited Muslims to kill Christians and destroy their properties, which led massive violation of a 100 houses after looting of valuables.

Last month an additional judge of Layyah refused bail to five Ahmedis including five teenagers accused of having blasphemed by writing an offensive word in a latrine of a Sunni mosque in a “chak” of Layyah. The five have been languishing for the past four and a half months in a jail in Dera Ghazi Khan without the government coming to their help. The police registered a case against them without the required prior investigation because of pressure from the local MNA and a banned terrorist organisation itself under trial these days. This was affirmed in investigative reports from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).

The police investigation, when finally submitted, said there was no direct evidence against the five accused. The FIR says that the plaintiffs were moved only by “suspicion” because the accused were “non-Muslim” Ahmedis. The four children are in a bad shape in the Dera Ghazi Khan jail with one in sharply declining health. They face death under Blasphemy Law which has brought nothing but infamy to the state of Pakistan and to its intimidated judiciary.
In the past, it has normally taken eight to nine years for an accused under this law to get relief from the Supreme Court of Pakistan. {After release, they cannot return to their village or city for fear of certain reprisal and death. While in prison, they are depossessed by the angry villagers of whatever thay had. They then become IDPs once released and live incognito. Their lives are totally uprooted.} It should be noted that no blasphemy accused has so far been legally done to death, making it clear that the accused are victims rather than criminals. The Supreme Court must come to the rescue of these entrapped children.
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

The “Peoples Under Threat” Survey” which “seeks to identify those peoples or groups that are most under threat of genocide, mass killing or other systematic violent repression in 2008” has just been released.

Pakistan follows the form shown this month in the “Failed States” report and likewise puts in a strong performance in this report.

The press release put out by those who prepared the report, the Minority Rights Group, has a goodly proportion of its column inches devoted to Pakistan.

The Groups in Pakistan identified in the report as being at risk are “Baluchis, Hindus, Mohajjirs, Pashtuns, Sindhis, Ahmadiyas, Christians and other religious minorities”. Very interestingly the Punjabis of Pakistan are not identified as a Group that is at risk :wink: .:
War against Islamic extremists putting lives of civilians in Asian countries under extreme threat

2 July 2009

Being in the frontline of the war against Islamic extremists has put people under severe risk in Pakistan which leads a global ranking of countries where the threat to civilian life has risen the most in 2009, Minority Rights Group International says as it launches its annual global ‘Peoples Under Threat”’ ranking.

Pakistan is the most significant riser in the ranking compared to the last year and is now placed sixth. This is due to a dangerous combination of a rapidly escalating conflict against different Islamist groups in North-West Frontier Province and the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas, the existing use of violent repression to suppress dissidents in other areas of the country, and growing violence in national politics, MRG says.

“Ethnic and religious minorities across West Asia are under greater threat than ever before as a result of escalating military operations against Islamic extremists,” says Mark Lattimer, Director of Minority Rights Group International.

“As identity conflicts have taken hold, Pakistan and Afghanistan have become among the most dangerous places in the world for civilians,” he adds.

The recent escalation in fighting in Pakistan has resulted in the largest forced movement of civilians in the country’s history with some 2.5 million people displaced. Many of them are ethnic minority Pashtuns and include religious minorities such as Christians and Sikhs.

MRG says the crisis in north and west Pakistan can be seen as an extension of the failed tactics used in Afghanistan, with high civilian casualties from military operations, including aerial bombing from un-manned US drones, stoking opposition in Pashtun communities to the government and its allies.

Peoples under Threat is a ranking of countries where civilians face the biggest risk of genocide, mass killings or violent repression. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Nepal are the Asian countries placed highest in the list. ……..............................

MRG
A briefing note, links to ranking tables, methodology etc. is available here:

Peoples Under Threat 2009
Last edited by arun on 03 Jul 2009 13:04, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by BhairavP »

arun wrote::eek:
Pakistani Muslim Forces 12-year-old Girl to Convert, Marry Him

Police ridicule Christian mother for kidnapping complaint; others demand money, labor.

By Brian Sharma

LAHORE, Pakistan, The Christian mother of a 12-year-old girl in Punjab Province who was kidnapped, coerced into converting to Islam and forcibly married to a 37-year-old Muslim hopes to recover her daughter at a court hearing next week.

The reaction of Pakistani law enforcement authorities to Sajida Masih’s complaint so far – ridiculing her and asserting that there is nothing she can do because her daughter is now a Muslim – does not encourage her hopes of recovering her daughter Huma at next Thursday’s (June 11) hearing. ……………

Christian News Today
Author = Brian Sharma. Probably Ramnarayan Goldstein's half-brother.
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by harbans »

About the Author of this thread:
Dr. Richard Benkin
Location: Chicago, IL, United States

Dr. Benkin freed Bangladeshi journalist, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, imprisoned and tortured after writing articles about the rise of Islamic radicals and urging relations with Israel. He later forced Bangladesh’s notorious RAB to release Choudhury unharmed. Since 2006, Benkin has been investigating and exposing the Red-Green alliance of Communists and Islamists, especially in South Asia, and speaking about its activities. He currently is helping Bangladeshi Hindu refugees in West Bengal and elsewhere secure basic rights and protections; and to prevent their genocide by Islamist radicals. He urges repeal of Bangladesh’s Vested Property Act that gives the government power to plunder religious minorities, especially Hindus, and distribute their lands to Muslim cronies. Dr. Benkin is fighting to make the world aware of this ethnic cleansing, ignored by international media and rights agencies; and he is helping to organize Indian Hindus in the United States and elsewhere to act to protect their co-religionists in South Asia and fight radical Islamist terror. Richard Benkin is a strong pro-Israel advocate who believes Jews and Hindus must unite to defeat radical Islam.
http://interfaithstrength.blogspot.com/ ... ilent.html

I'm impressed and appreciate Dr Benkins cause. There is little leverage India has with Pakistan and BD. People like Dr Benkin can and must be suppored in the role to expose this genocide. Remember Pakistan: Pre Partition 30% Hindu's. After migration: 17% Hindu's remained in Pakistan. Today there are less than 1% (?). Where have they gone? Same has been happening in BD.
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by dada »

I happened to read in a Newspaper some years back that after the defeat of the Marathas in the battle of panipat in 1761, some 1+ lac marathas(including their families) were taken as slaves along the torturous route via present balochistan to be sold in the Central Asia. less than 50% survived the ordeal. Most settled down in Southern Areas of present day Paki punjab & adjoining districts of balochistan. Since then they have been working as menial bonded labourers in these areas.
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by LHouse »

I thought sikhs were supposed to be warriors?
Why don't they get some weapons and fight back?
The afghans fought the soviets and captured weapons, why not the people within pakistan who are facing this?
Why don't indians help them by smuggling weapons into pakistan and using them against their enemies?
Some one once showed pakistanis making weapons in makeshift shed and work shops, why don't indians do the same?
Why can't indians fight back against any one?
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by shravan »

lighthouse wrote:....
:((
5 posts - All were meaningless.
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by SSridhar »

LHouse wrote:Some one once showed pakistanis making weapons in makeshift shed and work shops, why don't indians do the same?
Why can't indians fight back against any one?
The oppression of minorities in Pakistan has got nothing to with 'Indians fighting back'. Be mindful of what you post.
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by brihaspati »

Should we move such discussions to members only - GDF? The news items reported here appear to show certain faiths in a very bad light. They also tend to show that "oppression" is carried out as an integral part of the faith. What if someone thinks this is "religion bashing", especially when an equal-equal column on oppression by "other faiths" are not mentioned side by side? I am surprised this has escaped the radar.

In any case, Indians taking up arms to fight oppression on minorities in TSP can only be done in an organized and civilized manner, under a disciplined army that invades territories currently under GOTSP occupation. The last time that Indians not under the control of an army under the control of a GOI, took up arms to fight such "oppression" in same territories, was during the Partition riots. That particular initiative resulted in the loss of a large number of lives from the current majority faith in TSP. Surely such a phenomenon cannot be allowed to be repeated?

Loss of lives and oppression happen, as long as the loss does not happen on the Abrahamic side, should we get too excited about it? Yes a few Christians are being supposedly oppressed, which is the only noteworthy issue and is being raised internationally too. If we are not careful, we just might highlight the non-Abrahamic angle too much, and this can amount to "religion bashing" as all the news items show, every justification given for the oppression is coming solidly from religious faith and religious leaders. Surely, if it is already sanctioned by the faith, criticizing it amounts to "bashing religions"?
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

The minority Shia Muslim sect should hopefully get some respite from inevitably being at the receiving end of the slaughter given that they are in dispute with the majority Sunni Muslim sect in Dera Ismail Khan:
Sects reach agreement to end violence in D I Khan

By Irfan Mughal
Friday, 03 Jul, 2009 | 11:16 PM PST |

D I KHAN: A six-point agreement to end sectarian violence in conflict-hit Dera Ismail Khan was signed between representatives of Sunni and Shia sects on Friday.

Chief of JUI-F Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who mediated between the two sides, told reporters that a committee consisting of 12 persons from both sides had been formed to ensure implementation of the agreement.

The sectarian conflict has taken scores of lives from both the sides during last couple of months in D.I.Khan. ………………………………

Dawn
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

It is beyond shocking that in the 21st Century the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan continues to have a law in force that that permits the arrest and jailing of an elderly 80 year old man for the alleged crimes committed by his son :shock: .

What, if any, school of Islamic jurisprudence permits this inhumane treatment of the Pushtun people by their Pakistani Punjabi overlords :?:.

Here it may also be noted that the Pakistani Punjabis have made sure that this law does not apply to themselves :wink: :
80-year-old man behind bars for misdeeds of son

Monday, July 06, 2009
Our correspondent

GHALLANAI: An 80-year-old man is paying a heavy price for the misdeeds of his militant son as the elderly, frail villager is languishing in the Mohmand Agency headquarters prison here for the wrongs he had never done.

The son of the elderly Toraban Baba, identified as Abdul Haleem, was a hardcore militant and wanted to the political administration, official sources said. Toraban Baba was arrested under the collective responsibility section of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR), as the malik (elders) of his area could not produce the old man’s son to the authorities. ……………………..........

The ailing old man said he could not withstand the appalling conditions inside the Yakkaghund lockup as frequent power outages had made life miserable for him. The senile man hoped that he would be released as despite being innocent he had spent two months in the prison. …………………….......


The News
In any event this barbaric treatment of the Pushtuns is not limited to their very old, it is equally applied to their very young.

Pakistan’s Newsline in a December 2004 article reports that a two year child was sentenced by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to three years imprisonment for a crime allegedly committed by her family members :
Justice Denied

Children as little as two years have been convicted under the draconian FCR that contravenes all principles of human rights.

By Amir Mohammad Khan

Two-year-old Zarmina sits in her mother's lap on the veranda in front of the barrack reserved for women prisoners at the Central Jail, Haripur. She begins to cry when she hears the sobs of two children nearby, seven-year-old Iran Khan and his eight-year-old brother Tahir Khan. Tears roll down the children's cheeks as a sympathetic visitor to the jail asks them about their living conditions at the prison.

Convicted under Section 40 of the FrontierCrimes Regulation 1901 (FCR), the innocent Zarmina was sentenced to three yearsimprisonment at the North West Frontier Province prison. According to theofficial record, Zarmina was convicted on May 5, 2004, along with her motherHukam Jana, seven-year-old sister Wazir Azam, eight-year-old sister Islam Bibi,three-year-old brother Khalil Muhammad and nine-year-old brother SadiqMuhammad.

Zarmina and her family members were handed athree-year jail term for no crime of their own. They were sentenced for thealleged involvement of their father, Qadir Khan, and uncle, Arsal Khan, in acase of kidnapping for ransom. The NWFP government had launched a huge operationin their native Lakki Marwat for the two proclaimed offenders in which more than100 houses of gang members and their relatives were razed to theground. …………………..........

Newsline
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan there is no safety in following Islam, the Official State religion, if one happens to be from a minority sect.

At least three Shia Muslims killed :
Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Five killed in DIK sectarian violence

LAHORE/DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Five people including a prayer leader and two brothers were killed in separate incidents of sectarian violence in Dera Ismail Khan, a private TV channel reported on Monday. According to police, unidentified people shot dead a Shia rickshaw driver in Gali Bagh Wali. He was identified as Bakht Wadha, a resident of Dinpur village, Online reported. Meanwhile, two Shia brothers were killed when unidentified men on a motorbike fired at them …………........

Daily Times
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by SSridhar »

arun wrote:In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan there is no safety in following Islam, the Official State religion, if one happens to be from a minority sect.
Arun, but Shi'as aren't Muslims, according to Deobandi/Wahhabi/Salafist Pakistanis. They have consistently argued for ex-communicating them along with Ahmedis since the 50s. It could not be done because of various factors such as Iran, the 20% population of the Shi'as in Pakistan and the influential positions held by Shi'as both in the cabinets and the bureaucracy during the nascent years of Pakistan. Jinnah himself was a Shi'a (actually a convert to Twelver Shi'a). . The other founding leaders of Pakistan included such non-Sunnis as Aga Khan, an Ismaili and the Ahmadi Sir Zafarullah Khan. Severela large and powerful landlords in the Punjab are Shi'as as well.

The Pakistanis hit upon the next best thing to ex-communicating, extermination. The funding by the Sunni Wahhabi Saudis to counter the threat of the strident Shias especially after the seizure of power by Khomeini in Iran, and the Islamist policy of Gen. Zia-ul-Haq who happened to be at power during those crucial years have helped the process. Zia-ul-Haq’s support to Deobandi clerics in order to stem Khomeini influence in Pakistan, made the Deobandi organizations very powerful whipping in their wake Shia’a and Berelvi organizations for survival purposes. The Arab revulsion of the Shia Iran has been used by Al-Qaeda to accentuate the already existing Shia-Sunni schism in Pakistan, by encouraging outfits such as LeJ. So, it is all deep rooted and entwained.
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by chetak »

SSridhar wrote:
arun wrote:In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan there is no safety in following Islam, the Official State religion, if one happens to be from a minority sect.
Arun, but Shi'as aren't Muslims, according to Deobandi/Wahhabi/Salafist Pakistanis. They have consistently argued for ex-communicating them along with Ahmedis since the 50s. It could not be done because of various factors such as Iran, the 20% population of the Shi'as in Pakistan and the influential positions held by Shi'as both in the cabinets and the bureaucracy during the nascent years of Pakistan. Jinnah himself was a Shi'a (actually a convert to Twelver Shi'a). . The other founding leaders of Pakistan included such non-Sunnis as Aga Khan, an Ismaili and the Ahmadi Sir Zafarullah Khan. Severela large and powerful landlords in the Punjab are Shi'as as well.

The Pakistanis hit upon the next best thing to ex-communicating, extermination. The funding by the Sunni Wahhabi Saudis to counter the threat of the strident Shias especially after the seizure of power by Khomeini in Iran, and the Islamist policy of Gen. Zia-ul-Haq who happened to be at power during those crucial years have helped the process. Zia-ul-Haq’s support to Deobandi clerics in order to stem Khomeini influence in Pakistan, made the Deobandi organizations very powerful whipping in their wake Shia’a and Berelvi organizations for survival purposes. The Arab revulsion of the Shia Iran has been used by Al-Qaeda to accentuate the already existing Shia-Sunni schism in Pakistan, by encouraging outfits such as LeJ. So, it is all deep rooted and entwained.


Mullah musharaf was one of those involved in pressing home a vicious pogrom against the shias in gilgit and northern territories in 1988.

The bugger was a brigadier then.
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by RajeshA »

Pakistani Treatment of Women

I will like to share to some good news with Pakistani lurkees. There is hope for you! Now that it is clear that hard-core Islamists are going to take over Pakistan, you all need to make plans.

Here is the story of Sabatina:
Image
Translation from the report and video:

As a young girl of 10 she came to Austria with her family. With 18 she was supposed to marry her cousin. She resisted. She gathered her courage and said, "No, I am not going to marry Salman. I don't want to. That was the first time some girl in my family had said no to marriage, arranged by the parents. Then my mother came in. My cousin sisters sat around. Then she hit me very hard. I screamed for help, but they all sat there and looked on." She managed to flee from Pakistan. Then she found refuge in a Battered Women's Shelter. Later she changed her religion to Christianity, a capital sin in Islam. That is why a friend of her father threatened her to kill her. The threat is still there. She must often change her residence and phone numbers.

That doesn't stop her from encouraging other women to do the same. Sabatina says, "I want to encourage all the women out there, that a woman does not need to hide herself behind her veil, when one goes out, and one does not need to give in to a forced marriage with one's cousin, but one can realize one's dreams." That is why she has published her experiences in a book, and founded an association Sabatina e.V., a forum for all women who like her have been victims of violence. Today she is very much in demand as a guest in political round-table discussions. A few months back, she dared to travel to Pakistan again, freed from the shackles of family as a traveler between the worlds. She is distressed from the destitution, the misery about which the women report, and the violence by the feudals there.

"The women are raped, and one told me, that, 'I was raped, in the same tent (they have no houses), in which my daughter was being raped. So, together'". For these children and women, Sabatina has started a project, in which with donations she wants to build a Women's Sanctuary.

..And she was also able to realize another dream of hers. As a young kid, she wanted to be a singer. With Singer Metaphysics from the Band Die Sönne Mannheims on her side, she is recording her first Album.

Report

Video

Interviews on YouTube

Sabatina Association

Book: Sterben sollst du für dein Glück: Gefangen zwischen zwei Welten (Die for your Happiness: Prisoner between two worlds) by Sabatina James

Book: Vom Islam zum Christentum - ein Todesurteil (From Islam to Christianity - A Death Sentence) by Sabatina James
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

All talk of being a safe haven for the Muslims of the Indian Sub-Continents aside, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a pretty unsafe place for Muslims belonging to minority Islamic sects.

Plan to kill minority Shia Muslim lawyer goes awry :
Policeman killed in attack on Shia lawyer

* Prime minister condemns blast, orders immediate inquiry

By Akhtar Amin

PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD: A policeman was killed and four others including a Shia lawyer were injured when a remote-controlled bomb went off in the parking lot of a court in Dera Ismail Khan, police said on Wednesday. ……………………..

There was no claim of responsibility but the city has recently witnessed ………………….. sectarian fighting between Sunni and Shia Muslims.

Daily Times
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by shiv »

cross post
Rishi wrote:Wuz this posted? Any other such reports?

Many Christian Children, Women Burnt to Death in Pakistan
Thu, Jul. 30, 2009 Posted: 05:37 PM EDT

Many Christians are reportedly burnt to death when a Muslim mob sets on fire dozens of Christian homes on Thursday night for harbouring a Christian boy whom they accused had torn down pages of Quran, the Muslim Holy Book.

“Muslim attackers set on fire about 40 Christian homes in Korian village, Toba Tek district in Punjab Province on Thursday night, many including Christian children and women are feared burnt to death,” Pakistan Christian Post reported.

Sources in Toba Tek district, which is also the district headquarter told Pakistan Christian Post (PCP) that on Sunday night Muslims were searching for one boy in a a large gathering of a Christian wedding ceremony; they accused that the boy accused had burnt down pages of the Koran (Quran) – the Holy Book of Muslims.

Though the Christian and Muslim elders in the village defused the tension on clarification of the Christian youth that he had not burnt pages of the Quran, the Muslim mob came back on Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. calling upon the Korian Muslims from Mosque’s loudspeakers asking them to gather and teach a lesson to “infidel Christians” who they said are protecting a boy accused of blasphemy on burning the holy pages of Quran.

The sources said the nearby villages also made same announcements from mosques and Muslims gathered before homes of Christians in large numbers.

Shouting “Allah Oh Akbar,” – Allah is great - “Kill infidels” and the Muslim mob started setting on fire homes of Christians. As it was night, the Christian children, women and men with fear locked their doors to hide inside and many are feared death inside their homes, sourced told PCP.

PCP said when news of attack on Christians came to the District Police Officer in Toba Tek, he ordered deployment of police and Fire Brigade but Muslim mob blocked roads by lying on road.

It is second incident of burning homes of Christian in Punjab province when Muslim mob on accusation of blasphemy attacked village Bahamin Wala in district Kasur on July 1, 2009;, at that time no lost of lives was reported unlike this time.

According to Pakistan electronic media, Chief Minister of Punjab has ordered District Police Officer of Toba Tek to reach to village Korian and take control of situation but still Faisalabad-Gojra Road is blocked by Muslim mob who are lying on road to block any help to reach village Korian where homes of Christians are burning.

The teams of Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), and Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan (SLMP), Christian advocacy groups have left Lahore for Toba Tek after call from Christians in Gojra who are also hiding in homes on fear of attack by Muslims, the report said.

CLAAS Director Joseph Francis and SLMP Chief Sohail Johnson told PCP that they are on the way to Gojra to reach Village Korian and it will take 4 hours because of bad weather.

PCP reported that there is widespread fear among Christians in Punjab province on their safety and security from an attacks of extremist Muslims and misuse of blasphemy laws.

PCP said the details are awaited of this barbaric incident of burning of children, women and men in homes by Muslims as the teams of SLMP and CLASS approach the scene of the incident. The two teams are expected to give more detail on the incident.
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by shravan »

Muslims attack Hindus, ransack a temple and destroy four houses

Dhaka (AsiaNews) – A group of Muslims attacked four Hindu-owned houses after ransacking a Hindu temple in Narsangdi District, about 50 kilometres from the capital Dhaka. The episode occurred at night on 25 July in a village called Charsindhu.

The armed attackers from the local Muslim community stormed a local Hindu place of worship. Local Hindus came running to protect their temple but were beaten up instead. Eventually the attackers turned against the houses of some of the Hindus. Five people were eventually hospitalised

Local police moved in quickly and arrested those responsible for the violence.

Annie Halder, a local Catholic human rights activist, told AsiaNews that the episode in Charsindhu is indicative of the deep sense of insecurity that pervades the lives of religious minorities in this predominantly Muslim country.

Attacks by Muslim groups against Hindu and Christian families are frequent, especially in the villages. In many cases the culprits are not pursued by the law.

Bangladesh is home to about 143 million people, 60 per cent of whom live in rural areas.

Muslims constitute about 85 per cent of the population. More than 16 million are Hindus who are the country’s largest minority.
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by shravan »

Desecration of Holy Qura’an

TOBA TEK SINGH: Dozens of houses of the Christian community were set on fire on Friday by provoked villagers in Azafi Basti, Chak 95/JB, Gahri, situated on the Gojra-Faisalabad Road, over alleged desecration of the Holy Qura’an by three persons.

The incident of desecration allegedly took place at a Mehndi and wedding ceremonies of a Christian family. Three persons, Mukhtar Masih, Talib Masih and his son Imran Masih, showered papers on the participants on which Quranic verses were allegedly written, along with currency notes, to express jubilation on the occasion.

When the news reached the Muslims of the village, they held a meeting, where the accused Talib Masih refused to seek pardon from the Muslim community. This provoked the Muslims and hundreds of people attacked the Azafi Basti, populated by Christians.
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

shiv wrote:cross post
Rishi wrote:Wuz this posted? Any other such reports?

Many Christian Children, Women Burnt to Death in Pakistan
AP is reporting 6 Christians killed by a Muslim mob:
6 Pakistani Christians die in riots with Muslims

By MUNIR AHMED and ASIF SHAHZAD (AP) – 48 minutes ago

ISLAMABAD — Days of rioting between Christians and Muslims in eastern Pakistan following allegations that a Quran was defiled escalated Saturday, leaving six Christians dead, including a child, authorities said. ……………

AP via Google
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by Hiten »

came across this site - Bangladeshi Hindu
http://www.bangladeshihindu.com/
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

The New York Times on the killing of Christians in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan:
Hate Engulfs Christians in Pakistan

By SABRINA TAVERNISE
Published: August 2, 2009

GOJRA, Pakistan — The blistered black walls of the Hameed family’s bedroom tell of an unspeakable crime. Seven family members died here on Saturday, six of them burned to death by a mob that had broken into their house and shot the grandfather dead, just because they were Christian.

The family had huddled in the bedroom, talking in whispers with their backs pressed against the door, as the mob taunted them.

“They said, ‘If you come out, we’ll kill you,’ ” said Ikhlaq Hameed, 22, who escaped. Among the dead were two children, Musa, 6, and Umaya, 13.

The attack in this shabby town in central Pakistan — the culmination of several days of rioting over a claim that a Koran had been defiled — shows how precarious life is for the tiny Christian minority in Pakistan. ………….............

New York Times
The Washington Post on the killing of Christians in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan:
'They Want to Destroy Christians'

Spasm of Religious Violence Leaves a Pakistani Minority in Mourning, Frustration

By Joshua Partlow
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, August 3, 2009

GOJRA, Pakistan, Aug. 2 -- They do not want to bury the Christians. They want the nation to see them.

By nightfall Sunday, hundreds of residents of the Christian enclave here stood in defiant vigil around seven particleboard coffins neatly aligned on the train tracks that run through town. They had demands: Until the government investigates the killings and finds those responsible, they will not remove the bodies.

Police waited warily in the street. A man on a loudspeaker bellowed the villagers' sentiments, which included anger at provincial authorities for not stopping the killings.

"Death to the Punjab government!"

A spasm of religious violence came to this rural town in the shape of an angry Muslim mob Saturday morning. The Muslims marched to avenge what they believed was the desecration of a Koran one week earlier. When it was over, dozens of houses were torched and Faith Bible Pentecostal Church lay in ruins. Two villagers were shot dead, residents said. Five others, including two children, burned alive.

Killing has become commonplace in Pakistan. But this attack startled the country both for its ferocity and for its stark message to religious minorities. Many saw the violence as further evidence of the growing power of the Taliban and allied Islamist militant groups in Punjab province, home to about half of Pakistan's population.

"They have made up their minds to crush Christianity. They always call us dogs of America, agents of America," said Romar Sardar, an English teacher from the area. "There has been no protection by the police. Nothing." ……............

Washington Post
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

And as is normal for any religious motivated violence in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, be it Muslim on Minority Religion violence or Muslim sect on Muslim sect violence, at some point the involvement of a “foreign hand” will be conjured by a “respected” Islamic cleric :wink: .

The violence in Gojra perpetrated by a section of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s Muslim majority citizens on its Christian minority citizens is to be no different:
Mufti Muneeb hints involvement of foreign hand in Gojra violence

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman while terming the Gojra incident unfortunate said that the involvement of foreign hand in that incident can not be ruled out.

Talking to a private TV channel, Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman said that foreign elements always tried to destabilize Pakistan by hatching conspiracies.

Online
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

X Post.

Continuing Pakistani efforts to palm off religious inspired violence onto foreign quarters.

A new Pakistani insinuation is that India instigated the Pakistani Muslim mob to run riot and burn to death fellow Pakistani Christians in Gojra :wink: :
Intelligence agencies present Gojra violence report to IG

Updated at: 1743 PST, Sunday, August 02, 2009

LAHORE:

……………………. According to Intelligence sources, the Interior Ministry had, on July 18, informed the provinces through a circular about the possibility of terrorist activities.

The circular had alerted Punjab districts including Faisalabad, Tob Tek Singh, Sialkot, Rawalpindi and Okara.

It warned that terrorist activities may be carried out in these areas in retaliation of Mumbai attacks.

GEO TV
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

Excerpt from an article that appeared in the Seoul Times:
Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Letters from Tokyo

Pakistan and Burning Alive of Christians

By Lee Jay Walker
Tokyo Correspondent

………………Turning back to Pakistan and the latest massacre of six Christians in Gojira (the figure may be higher) it is clear that burning women and children in order to protect a book, is deemed to be both logical and Godly in the eyes of these Sunni Muslim fanatics. Yet of course it is not logical and it is certainly not Godly because it is an act of mass barbarity against innocents.

Remember, if you close your eyes and visualize the area of modern day Pakistan in the past you would have seen a world of many religions. Buddhists would have wandered this land in the past to preach about the Buddha and of course Hinduism is the very fabric of the Indian sub-continent. While other faiths, for example Jains, Zoroastrians fleeing Islamic persecution in Persia (Iran), and Sikhs, would have wandered far and wide.

Yet in modern day Pakistan you have virtually no Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, and other minorities left because they all either fled because of persecution or to escape dhimmitude. While in the distant past, massive persecution and countless massacres eroded this rich diversity.

Therefore, in modern day Pakistan this Sunni Islamic madness continues and now they are killing each other in the north of the nation, while causing mayhem in Afghanistan. At the same time, they are killing minority Christians, Shia Muslims and Ahmadiyya Muslims. It is like a state of madness with no end game apart from complete Sunni Islamization and then an internal Sunni Islamic war on the grounds of who is the most radical.……………
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

Presumably it would not have been kosher for the Government of the worlds first “Ideological Muslim State” and one of the worlds few “Islamic Republic’s” to intervene during the burning to death of Christians by a Muslim mob for allegedly desecrating the Muslim holy book, the Koran :

Pakistani Christians: Police did not stop carnage

‘Govt remained inactive during Gojra tragedy’
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

Excerpt.

Irrespective of the supposed support of the principle of religious equality by M.A. Jinnah it was always inevitable that a country that fixates on a single religion by claiming itself to be an “Ideological Muslim State” and an “Islamic Republic” will treat all non-Muslim citizens as second-class citizens:
Pakistans Silenced Minority

August 4, 2009
Rosheen Kabraji

So what is it like living as a non-Muslim in Pakistan? Well, it all really depends on which community you look at, especially regarding socio-economic conditions, and location. While the Christians and Hindus are the largest minorities they also come under persecution most often due to the history of conflict with Islam. They are largely impoverished and uneducated working in menial jobs in the Punjab. In urban areas some Christians are teachers and work as office administrators. There are also the Sikh, Buddhist and the Parsi-Zoroastrian communities. The Parsis in Pakistan are descendants of the Persian Zoroastrians who fled Persia to India when the Muslims invaded in the seventh century AD. The Parsi community is a tiny, urbanized, and mostly wealthy community that is engaged primarily in business and philanthropic activities. As Pakistan’s most liberal and westernised minority community they keep to themselves, often in gated communities and do not proselytize. Plus there are only about 1500 left in Pakistan who reside mainly in Karachi.

What all non-Muslim citizens of Pakistan share is being treated as second-class citizens. Non-Muslims cannot run for Prime Minister or President of the country as only Muslims can hold the highest post in public office. If Musharaff hadn’t come along and abolished the system of separate electorates for minorities in favour of the joint electorate system non-Muslims would still have a less powerful vote compared to other Muslim Pakistanis. Since 1985, religious minorities have been barred from casting a vote for general elections and were only allowed to cast their votes for limited reserve seats. It took a military dictator to give the minorities their voting rights. Not the “democratic” governments of Nawaz Sharif or Benazir Bhutto.

Yet it is not just non-Muslims but other religious sects such as the Ahmadis/Qadianis that are persecuted as well. Sectarian and ethnic violence is also rampant: Sunni against Shia, Mohajir against Sindhi, Punjabi against Baluchi; the list unfortunately is endless. And in this mix are also the Sheedis, descendants of slaves taken from Africa to Sindh by Muslim traders who now live primarily in Baluchistan and lower Sindh.

The Faster Times
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan there seems to be a blackout on the religious motivated murders of members of the minority Muslim Ahamadiyya sect.

This religious motivated murder of a minority Muslim Ahamadiyya sect member in Multan was not reported in any Pakistani newspaper:
Another Minority Killing in Pakistan

LONDON, August 8 /PRNewswire/ -- It is with great sadness that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat confirms that another member of its community, Rana Ata-ul Karim (36) was killed on 6 August 2009 in Multan, Pakistan. He was murdered simply for being an Ahmadi. Mr Karim, a well educated agriculturist, left his home for a few minutes in the afternoon and returned to find that his wife had been locked in their bedroom by three young men who had entered his home. Mr Karim was shot 3 times and died on the spot. ……...........

IT News
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by shravan »

Muslim gang extorting money from minority Hindus in Bangladesh

10/08/2009

Dhaka (AsiaNews) – Some 20 Hindu families from the villages of Kalibari, Kajir Hat and Keramotia, in the sub-district of Sonagaji, southern Bangladesh, have become the victims of extortions and blackmail by members of the local Muslim majority, this according to representatives of the local Hindu minority. They complain that young Hindu women are being abducted to extort money from their families.

Initially Jafar, Yunus, Saiful, Ripon, and other Muslims set up a criminal gang. Their first deed was to demand 45,000 taka (US$ 650) from the family of Nitia Das, in Kalibari.

When other Hindus resisted attempts to extort money, the gang began persecuting Hindu families in the area’s villages.

They abducted one young woman, demanding a ransom of 50,000 taka (US$ 725) for her release.

In a second case a family had to pay 25,000 taka (just over US$ 360) to get the release of the young woman involved.

A local Hindu, Boloram Das, who is related to the second kidnap victim, said that more threats have been made against local Hindus.

One of the gang members, Yunus, is now threatening to marry a young Hindu woman against her will and that of her family.

“Neither villagers nor police are willing to help us,” he lamented. In addition, “at least 20 Hindu families from the area are unable to go home.”

Human rights activist Dipal Barua said that attacks against minorities are very much on the rise in Bangladesh.

Strongly condemning violence, he called on the government to “take proper actions against the extortionists as soon as possible.”
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Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by RajeshA »

Religious Extremism in NWFP, Swat and Chitral: Impact on Gilgit-Baltistan: UNPO

Code: Select all

                                                       2-Day International Seminar

                                    Society, Culture and Politics in the Karakoram Himalayas

                                             Venue: ICSSR Conference Hall, New Delhi

                                                             (23-24 July 2009)

                               Organized by: Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation (HRCF)
Extremism does not belong to any religion, school of thought or special geographical condition. Extremism is the attitude of human being which is certainly developed due to the surrounding atmosphere, injustice and unusual training.

The beginning of the existing era of the religious extremism starts with cold war, in which Pakistan has offered its shoulder to get rid off the Soviet Union from Afghanistan. The province of NWFP, Northern Areas and Tribal Areas due to proximity with Afghanistan was used extensively for war purposes. General Zia-ul- Haque provided military training to millions of Muslims around the world in the name of Jehad-e-Afghanistan. These Mujahideen filled with spirit of Jehad, performing small experimental incidents in Pakistan, proceeded to conquer Afghanistan and Kashmir. These Mujahideen had been intemperate after the withdrawal of Soviet Union's army from Afghanistan, scattered around the world and organized in the name of Alqaida and Taliban to spread their specific concept of Islamic ideology.

Gilgit Baltistan was a peaceful land free from religious extremism, sectarianism and prejudice. The people from all school of thoughts were living as members of one family, despite the fact that Shias were in majority. Government of Pakistan breached the State Subject Rules (SSR), settled thousand of people from NWFP in Gilgit Baltistan, and converted the local majority into minority. The language, culture, customs and social values of Gilgit Biltistan had been ruined, and the sectarian movements had been provoked, for fighting with locals. Proper planning had been made for the settlement of outsiders in Gilgit Baltistan, for this purpose Administrative heads from NWFP had been sent to Gilgit Baltistan and housands of acres of land has been distributed amongst outsider to settle them in Gilgit Baltistan. Beside commercial and administrative posts have been awarded to outsider, due to this reason the locals of Gilgit Baltistan is facing external interference.

Gilgit Baltistan was victimized by these religious extremists in May 1988 when on the consent of General Zia-ul-Haque and official agencies sent 80 thousand militants/Lashkari to attack Gilgit Baltistan. The Lashkari comprised of tribesmen of NWFP and Afghani natives. The Lashkar reached Gilgit after covering a distance of 600 Kilometers by Karakoram Highway. The genocide of Shias was the main aim of this attack. The Lashkars which were fully armed with heavy weapons committed genocide and terror activities in Gilgit, settlements were ruined, human being, animals and un-harvested crops were burnt and the Shia population of Jalalabad were burnt alive. Hundreds of women were raped, humiliated and kidnapped. No case was registered against these militants nor were they asked the reason of the attack on Gilgit Baltistan. The shameless invasion and killing of humans has been concealed from the world and instead it was broadcasted by Pakistani media that Taliban captured the Jalalabad city of Afghanistan.

The religious extremism or Talibanisation in NWFP, Chitral and Swat has adverse affects on Gilgit Baltistan and these peaceful regions are at the target of terrorism and war against terrorism.

Asian Human Rights Commission has revealed in a report of June 1, 2009 that Government of Pakistan intends to use force against the people of Gilgit Baltistan under the pretext of eliminating the Taliban.

"A recent announcement of the Pakistan Army and its intelligence agency stated that the Taliban are taking shelter in the Gilgit and Baltistan areas. The purpose of using the pretext of the presence of the Taliban in the area is to mislead USA and NATO forces who are involved in war on terror. They want to make believe that the Taliban is a menace in the construction of the big dams and wish to occupy Gilgit and Baltistan themselves". (AHRC quoted).

The following are the causes of Talibanization in Gilgit and Baltistan Regions

GEOGRAPHY OF GILGIT BALTISTAN

Gilgit Baltistan border Swat, Dir, Chitral and Kohistan districts of NWFP. Nowadays Northern Areas of Pakistan are the "Heaven of terrorists" and the attention of the whole world is on the absconded terrorists in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. Due to calling Gilgit Baltistan as Northern areas, this land is directly targeted by terrorists. Gilgit Baltistan is not Northern areas of Pakistan and nor this land is constitutional part of Pakistan, but unfortunately Pakistan has administrative control on it and officially calls it Northern Areas of Pakistan.

Now the name "Northern Areas" is threat to the identity and survival of Gilgit Baltistan because extremist easily penetrate and seek safe heaven in this region.


AREA OF SHIA MAJORITY

The concept of indigenous majority is deteriorating day by day in Gilgit Baltistan and locals are converting into the minority. At the time of 1947 the Shias were in majority of Gilgit Baltistan, but after occupation by the Government of Pakistan, under a special policy, Wahhabis settled from other provinces particularly from NWFP, due to this reason the demography is changed there. Majority of the people who settled in Gilgit Baltistan belong to tribal areas and NWFP. So many sectarian violations been took place in Gilgit Baltistan and the terrorists involved in these incidences belong to tribal areas or NWFP. Under the patronage of government none of the accused had been arrested and no one is punished.

Wahhabis residing in Gilgit Baltistan have soft corners in their hearts for the Taliban of Swat, Waziristan and NWFP. So many people received military training in past and performed Jehad with full spirit. Pro Taliban elements of Gilgit Baltistan may provide the safe adobes to the extremists due the same sect and sympathy and therefore Taliban may arrive in these areas.

YOUTHS OF NORTHERN LIGHT INFANTRY REGIMENT

In 1988 when tribal militants/Lashkar attacked Gilgit Baltistan in victorious way then they were defeated by hundreds of local people. Those were retired or serving soldiers of Northern Light Infantry (NLI). They forced the lashkar of 80 thousand to run way. The thousand of soldiers of NLI Regiment today are fighting against terrorists in tribal areas, Swat and NWFP.

If Taliban are facing defeat in the hands of the youths of Gilgit Baltistan then tomorrow the situation may change and cause hate in their hearts against the youths of NLI and may cause harm to Gilgit Baltistan. Keeping in view these facts presence of NLI soldiers in tribal areas and NWFP is not favorable. The dead bodies of the soldiers of Gilgit Baltistan is received in Gilgit and Baltistan Regions from Tribal areas and NWFP, due to this reason the society of the Gilgit Baltistan is affecting very much. People are all the time worried about their relatives, which causes the breakdown in social and economical activities.


KARAKORAM HIGHWAY (KKH)

The people of Gilgit Baltistan call Karakoram Highway "bloody road" and "killer Highway". This is the only land road which connects Gilgit Baltistan with Pakistan. People residing on both sides of this highway have Taliban influences. In past there had been so many killing incidents in which the people of one school of thought had been killed after getting down from the vehicles on KKH. People are forced to travel on this road because this is the only way for the transportation of goods and commodity of life, if this road blockade temporarily then the communication of Gilgit Baltistan collapses with the rest of the world and people suffer from hunger, the economical development of Gilgit Baltistan depends upon KKH. The Taliban activities continue with the beginning of American war against the Taliban, the blockage of this road, puts bad impacts on Gilgit Baltistan.

So many terrorists absconded due the army operation in Swat against the Taliban and settling in the surrounding areas through which KKH passes, if ny action is started against the terrorists then the economy of Gilgit Baltistan will be ruined. China is performing works on the extension plan of KKH, therefore the fighting against the terrorism is becoming clear at KKH. In case fighting against Taliban take place at KKH then the people of Gilgit Baltistan will be deprived from the traveling facilities and all commodities of lives.


UNSATISFATOTRY SECURITY MEASURES

The feeling of insecurity is increasing day by day amongst the people of Gilgit Baltistan. Government has already deployed FC, Rangers, and paramilitary forces to maintain law and order situation in the region. Billions of rupees is being spent on such forces from the development budget of the area, but the activities of terrorism fail to contain in Gilgit Baltistan. In side the city of Gilgit on every square and roads, armed forces are deputed, at the time of entering the city and on moving from one place to other people are searched thoroughly and citizens are harassed with out any cause.

The interesting situation is that the terrorists after doing their activity very easily escape in the presence of these forces, but the Pakistani forces turn a blind eye. The persons involved in the sectarian violence of 2005 had not been arrested nor has any one punished. This year Syed Asad Zaidi, the Deputy Speaker of Northern Areas Legislative Assembly (NALA) including another person was assassinated at the distance of few meters of Ranger's Check Post but the authorities fail to arrest the accused. The people understand that the terrorists activities in Gilgit are backed by the non-local civil administration agencies.

In Gilgit Baltistan secret agencies also interfere in the personal matters of the people, these official agencies deputed to maintain peace, and control deteriorating law and order situation, but they are engaged day and night in destabilizing Gilgit Baltistan. There are so many incidents in which official agencies picked the local peoples and killed them by severe
tortures. In June 2009, Sadiq Ali was killed while he was in police custody. It is common opinion that official agencies killed him during torture during arrest. The law enforcer especially Frontier Constabulary (FC) belong to tribal areas and NWFP and they present security threats to the local people. In the presence of these forces and intelligent agencies, threat of Talibanisation also exists in Gilgit Baltistan. The Inspector General Police and Chief Secretary of Gilgit Baltistan had not rejected the possibility of the threat of Talabanization in Gilgit Baltistan and also disclosed that a
'Great Game' would be started in Gilgit Baltistan.


FOREIGN CIVIL AND MILITARY ADMINISTRATION

The highest posts of the administrative affairs, judiciary, administration and security designated to persons who belong to other provinces of Pakistan and they are all anti-Shia elements. The security and political conditions of the Gilgit Baltistan is in their hands and these people keep precarious conditions in Gilgit Baltistan for their own benefits and for the extension
of their employment .The local people are kept unaware regarding the law and order situation. Whenever any matter of law and order situation occurs in Gilgit Baltistan, then these people go to Islamabad and come back only after the incident is over.

In 2005 when sectarian violence occurred on the issue of curriculum after the murder of Shia Leader Syed Ziauddin Rizvi, at that time the administrative heads Chief Secretary, I.G.P. and Home Secretary were in Islamabad and this year when murder of Deputy Speaker of NALA took place, during this course of time, I.G.P.. Chief Secretary, Home Secretary and DC Skardu were in Islamabad. The people protest against this situation and demand the removal of the non-local administration. The non-local administration may tend to protect the Taliban in Gilgit Baltistan, because this helps administration to keep the local people restricted from the struggle for their rights and to maintain threat against the locals. The occupied administration is not aware about the geographical condition, mountainous paths and caves, due to this reason they can not prepare better
security plan and the lack of security can enhance the Talibanisation in Gilgit Baltistan.


ARRIVAL OF SWAT AFFECTEES

Millions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) are created due to operation against terrorists in NWFP and Swat and they have started to arrive in Gilgit Baltistan also, these people have reached to their relatives, who are the new settlers of Gilgit Baltistan. Their arrival may cause the entrance of extremists in Gilgit Baltistan.


Gilgit Baltistan is under threat due the unsatisfactory condition of security and checking. Gilgit Baltistan is suffering from economic instability since before, and upon the arrival of these IDPs, these areas are also affected economically. There is no guarantee that they will return to their homes after end of the operation, because government is ever in favor to settle the non locals in the region. The sympathy with the IDPs on the basis of humanity at its own place but the plan to settle extremism in Gilgit Baltistan can not be ignored.


SUGGESSTION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Gilgit Baltistan borders China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and India. Talibanization in Pakistan as well as Gilgit and Baltistan Regions will affect India, Tajikistan and China. If extremists gain influence in Gilgit and Baltistan Regions then an inter-dominion crisis will occur the peaceful land of Gilgit Baltistan will become the field of war. International Community has to play its role to save the Gilgit Baltistan from the effects of the Talibanisation.

The following measures can be adopted for keep safe Gilgit Baltistan from religious extremism or Talibanisation.


REINSTATING THE HITORICAL NAME (Gilgit & Baltistan)

In 2008 Northern Areas Legislative Assembly (NALA) recommended through a resolution that the areas of Gilgit and Baltistan be called by its historical and actual name of "Gilgit and Baltistan", in place of so-called 'the Northern Areas'. The Government has not approved this resolution. Gilgit Baltistan in respect of geographical and historical matter is not the northern areas of Pakistan but due to calling of this regions as Northern areas, Gilgit Baltistan has also been included in the fight of Northern and tribal areas of Pakistan.


Domestic and international press broadcast the news of fight against the terrorism in the northern area, and common people thinks that this action is going on in Gilgit Baltistan. However, Gilgit Baltistan is 800 kilometer away from the northern areas of Pakistan. Due to the name Northern areas, the tourists of the world have stopped coming to Gilgit Baltistan and severe
losses are occurring to the local economy. Since then thousand of people have become jobless who thrived on the tourism industry.

To save the Gilgit Baltistan from the Talibanisation and keep away the impacts of Talibanisation, it is necessary that area may be liberated from the name of Northern Areas and should be called its historical and original name "Gilgit Baltistan".


RESTORATION OF STATE SUBJECT RULE (SSR)

The economic development, law and order of the Gilgit Baltistan depend upon the restoration of State Subject Rules. Government of Pakistan violated the SSR to convert the local population in minority by settlement of the non-residents in Gilgit Baltistan. After dissolving SSR the economic, political and social circumstances have changed in Gilgit Baltistan. If the non-residents are not evicted by the implementation of SSR, then Taliban may also adopt residence here and the houses of non-residents may provide the safe heaven for the Taliban. The restoration of the SSR becomes essential to save the Gilgit Baltistan from the religious extremity and Talibanisation.


GOVERNMENT TRANSFERRED TO LOCALS

The public demand regarding the execution of Local Authority Government has been increasing day by day because the non-residents administration holding their posts for the last 62 years, which is deteriorating the circumstances in Gilgit Baltistan, The administration of the area can be improved by positing of local persons on High Administrative posts and the posting of the local peoples on administrative post will cause to block the external ntervention.


SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS TRANSFERRED TO LOCALS

The security of Gilgit Baltistan is in the hands of non-resident forces i.e. FC and Rangers. The withdrawal of FC and Rangers is necessary to improve the security matters of Gilgit Baltistan, because FC and Rangers is blamed for the involvement in sectarian violence and the local people consider themselves unsafe in the presence of FC and Rangers. To create feeling of
protection, the security of Gilgit Baltistan must be hand over to NLI and Northern Areas Scouts. Terrorists can be blocked by deputing the division of NLI and Northern Scouts at the entrance ways of Chitral, Swat and NWFP.


OPENING THE HISTORICAL AND BUSINESS CORRIDORS

War against terrorism is severely affecting the economy of Gilgit and Baltistan, to enhance its economic activities, all historical and business corridors joining Ladakh, Tajikistan, Afghanistan with Gilgit Baltistan, should be opened. By opening of Kargil to Skardu, Ashkoman to Tajikistan and Astor to Srinagar corridors for the business purposes, this will cause the revolution in the economy of the peoples. The people will not depend on the KKH, and they will get alternatives corridors for their businesses. The strength of the tourists will enhance in Gilgit Baltistan because the tourists coming to India and Tajikistan shall get an opportunity of safe tourism on transit visa, which is beneficial for the area.

Religious extremism has no place in Gilgit Baltistan. Although if attempted to target its local population or try to sabotage the extension plan of KKH by the Talibanisation, then certainly it will be enmity of 2 million people who already deprive the human and basic rights.

Today, the beauty, culture, custom, archaeological monuments and thousand years old historical bequest and heavenly valleys of Karakoram, Himalayas, Ladakh and Hindu Kash is facing religious extremism; therefore the world should play its role to save Gilgit Baltistan from Talibanisation.

The mountains, Glaciers, water , minerals, wild life, archaeological monuments and culture is the assets of whole world and it is the responsibility of whole world to secure these assts. Lets come, and promise today in the conference of Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation that we will play our role domestically and internationally to save Gilgit Baltistan from the religious extremism.
arun
BRF Oldie
Posts: 10248
Joined: 28 Nov 2002 12:31

Re: Oppression of minorities in Pakistan and Bangla Desh

Post by arun »

Comments of Archbishop Adolfo Yllana, the Vatican's apostolic nuncio in Pakistan, in an August 12 interview with the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano:
PAKISTAN-CHRISTIANS Aug-13-2009 (450 words) xxxi

Vatican nuncio fears more anti-Christian violence in Pakistan

……………….. "In practice, the law against blasphemy has become an easy instrument to accuse Christians of any type of illegality. It's enough, for example, that a Christian doesn't pay a debt for him to be accused of blasphemy -- and from there, it's a short step to violence," Archbishop Yllana said.

"I'm afraid that unless there is a change there will be more violence. Above the heads of Christians and followers of other religious minorities hangs the sword of Damocles, represented by the blasphemy law," he said. Church leaders in Pakistan have appealed for the abrogation of the law.

The archbishop said in recent years there had been a worsening of relations between Muslims and all religious minorities in Pakistan. Acts of violence and intolerance against religious minorities are common and are often unreported by the media, he said.

He blamed some Muslim clerics for inciting the violence.

"In the mosques of some cities the imams use megaphones to broadcast diatribes against the minorities. The (Muslim) faithful get worked up and become violent," he said. …………….

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