Highlights of the HRW statement

– Pakistan Government and Security Forces have failed to protect Shia Muslim minority.

– In 2012, at least 320 members of the Shia population have been killed in targeted attacks. Over 100 have been killed in Balochistan province, the majority from the Hazara community.

– The government’s persistent failure to apprehend attackers or prosecute the extremist groups organizing the attacks suggests that it is indifferent to this carnage.

– The arrest of Malik Ishaq is an important test for Pakistan’s criminal justice system.

– Government cannot play role of unconcerned bystander as the Shia across Pakistan are slaughtered.

– Attacks targeting the Shia population have taken place repeatedly over the last year in Balochistan, the port city of Karachi, predominantly Shia populated areas of Gilgit Baltistan in the northern areas, and in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

– Sunni (Deobandi) militant groups such as the ostensibly banned Lashkar-e Jhangvi have operated with widespread impunity across Pakistan while law enforcement officials have effectively turned a blind eye on attacks against Shia communities.

– Some Sunni (Deobandi) extremist groups are known to be allies of the Pakistani military, its intelligence agencies, and affiliated paramilitaries, such as the Frontier Corps.

– The government should also actively investigate allegations of collusion between Sunni (Deobandi) militant groups and military intelligence and paramilitary forces and hold accountable personnel found to be involved in criminal acts.

– HRW report misidentifies Takfiri Deobandi-Salafi extremist groups as Sunni extremist groups. However, it is a fact that the majority of peaceful Sunnis, particularly Sunni Barelvis and moderate Deobandis, do not consider the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (aka Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat) as representative of Sunni Muslims. Shia killings in Pakistan is a case of Takfiri terrorism by Deobandi extremists (against Shias and moderate Sunnis), not Sunni vs Shia sectarianism.

Pakistan: Shia Killings Escalate
Government and Security Forces Fail to Protect Muslim Minority

(New York) – The Pakistani government should urgently act to protect the minority Shia Muslim community in Pakistan from sectarian attacks by Sunni (Deobandi) militant groups, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should hold accountable those responsible for ordering and participating in deadly attacks targeting Shia.

While sectarian violence is a longstanding problem in Pakistan, attacks against ordinary Shia have increased dramatically in recent years, Human Rights Watch said. In 2012, at least 320 members of the Shia population have been killed in targeted attacks. Over 100 have been killed in Balochistan province, the majority from the Hazara community.

“Deadly attacks on Shia communities across Pakistan are escalating,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The government’s persistent failure to apprehend attackers or prosecute the extremist groups organizing the attacks suggests that it is indifferent to this carnage.”

In the most recent violence, in two separate attacks on September 1, 2012, gunmen attacked and killed eight Hazara Shia in Quetta, Balochistan’s capital. In the first attack, witnesses told Human Rights Watch that four armed men riding on two motorbikes shot dead five Hazaras at a bus stop in the Hazar Ganji area of the city. The victims, all vegetable sellers, were returning from the vegetable market. Within two hours of the attack, gunmen riding a motorbike attacked a nearby bus stop, killing two people from the Hazara community. An eighth victim, also a Hazara Shia, died in the hospital on September 2.

On August 30, gunmen riding a motorbike shot dead Zulfiqar Naqvi, a Shia judge, his driver,Essa Khan, and a police bodyguard, Abdul Shakoor, as Naqvi headed to work in Quetta.

On August 16, four buses passing through the Babusar Top area of Mansehra district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (formerly the North-West Frontier Province) were ambushed by gunmen who made all the passengers disembark. The attackers checked the national identity cards of each passenger and summarily executed 22 passengers identified as belonging to the Shia community. A spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the killings.

Similar attacks targeting the Shia population have taken place repeatedly over the last year in Balochistan, the port city of Karachi, predominantly Shia populated areas of Gilgit Baltistan in the northern areas, and in Pakistan’s tribal areas, Human Rights Watch said.

Sunni (Deobandi) militant groups such as the ostensibly banned Lashkar-e Jhangvi have operated with widespread impunity across Pakistan while law enforcement officials have effectively turned a blind eye on attacks against Shia communities. Some Sunni (Deobandi) extremist groups are known to be allies of the Pakistani military, its intelligence agencies, and affiliated paramilitaries, such as the Frontier Corps, Human Rights Watch said.

While authorities claim to have arrested dozens of suspects in attacks against Shia since 2008, only a handful have been charged, and no one has been held accountable for these attacks. The August 31 arrest of Malik Ishaq, the leader of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, in Lahore in a case filed against him for inciting violence against the Shia community on August 9 is an important development, coming after repeated failed attempts to bring him to justice, Human Rights Watch said. Despite being the accused in some 44 cases, involving the killing of some 70 people, mostly from the Shia community, Ishaq has previously been acquitted by Pakistani courts in 34 cases and granted bail in the other 10. The government recently detained him under provisions of the Maintenance of Public Order Act as it deemed him to be a threat to public security. A review board of the Lahore High Court ordered his release in January 2012 on the grounds that Ishaq’s continued detention was unjustified because he had been granted bail in all cases pending against him.

“The arrest of Malik Ishaq, who has been implicated in dozens of killings, is an important test for Pakistan’s criminal justice system,” Adams said. “Sectarian violence won’t end until those responsible are brought to trial and justice.”

Human Rights Watch urged Pakistan’s federal government and relevant provincial governments to make all possible efforts to promptly apprehend and prosecute those responsible for recent attacks and other crimes targeting the Shia population. The government should direct civilian agencies and the military responsible for security to actively protect those facing attack from extremist groups, and to address the growing perception, particularly in Balochistan and Pakistan’s tribal areas, that state authorities look the other way when Shia are attacked. It should increase the number of security personnel in Shia majority areas and enclaves at high risk of attack, particularly the Hazara community in Quetta. The government should also actively investigate allegations of collusion between Sunni militant groups and military intelligence and paramilitary forces and hold accountable personnel found to be involved in criminal acts.

“Pakistan’s government cannot play the role of unconcerned bystander as the Shia across Pakistan are slaughtered,” Adams said. “Pakistan’s political leaders, law enforcement agencies, judiciary, and military need to take this as seriously as they take other security threats to the state.” (Source: HRW)

Urdu version reported by BBC Urdu

انسانی حقوق کے لیے کام کرنے والی بین الاقوامی تنظیم ہیومن رائٹس واچ نے پاکستان میں بڑھتے ہوئے فرقہ وارانہ تشدد پرتشویش کا اظہار کرتے ہوئے کہا ہے کہ رواں سال میں شعیہ فرقے سے تعلق رکھنے والے تین سو بیس افراد کو ہلاک کیا گیا۔

تنظیم کے مطابق صرف بلوچستان میں ہزارہ آبادی کے ایک سو افراد کو قتل کیا گیا۔

تنظیم کے ایشیا کے ڈائریکٹر بریڈ ایڈمس نے نیویارک سے جاری ایک بیان میں کہا ہے کہ پاکستانی حکومت کی جانب سے فرقہ وارانہ تشدد میں ملوث عناصر کو گرفتار کرنے میں ناکامی دراصل اس کا اس مسئلے پر کوئی خاص توجہ نہ دینا ہے۔

بیان کے مطابق گزشتہ سال کے دوران بلوچستان، کراچی، گلگت بلتستان اور ملک کے قبائلی علاقوں میں شعیہ آبادی کو نشانہ بنا کر کئی حملے کیے گئے۔

تنظیم کے مطابق اس سال تشدد کے کم از کم چار ایسے بڑے واقعات ہوئے جن میں شیعہ ہزارہ فرقے سے تعلق رکھنے والے اکتیس افراد کو نشانہ بنایا گیا۔ فرقہ وارانہ تشدد کے یہ واقعات کوئٹہ اور بابو سر میں پیش آئے۔ بابو سر واقعے کی ذمہ داری پاکستانی تحریک طالبان نے قبول کی تھی۔

بیان میں سنی دیوبندی تکفیری فرقے سے تعلق رکھنے والےعسکریت پسند گروپوں کے کردار پر تشویش کا اظہار کیا گیا ہے۔

ہیومن رائٹس واچ کے مطابق کالعدم تنظیم لشکر جھنگوی ملک میں بغیر کسی روک ٹوک کے آپریٹ کر رہی ہے اور قانون نافذ کرنے والے اداروں نے شعیہ فرقے کے خلاف ہونے والے تشدد کی طرف سے جیسے آنکھیں بند کر رکھیں ہیں۔

تنظیم کا یہ بھی کہنا ہے کہ کچھ سنی دیوبندی تکفیری انتہا پسند تنظیموں ( سپاہ صحابہ المعروف اہلسنت والجماعت ) کے پاکستان کی فوج، خفیہ اداروں اور فرنٹئیر کور سے تعلقات کوئی پوشیدہ بات نہیں ہے۔

ہیومن رائٹس واچ کے مطابق اگست میں لشکر جھنگوی کے سربراہ ملک اسحاق کی گرفتاری اس ضمن میں اہم پیش رفت ہے۔ ملک اسحاق کے خلاف فرقہ وارانہ تشدد کے چوالیس مقدمات قا ئم ہیں جن میں ستر افراد کا قتل شامل ہے۔

ڈائریکٹر بریڈ ایڈمس کا کہنا ہے کہ ملک اسحاق کی گرفتاری پاکستان کے قانونی نظام کے لیے ایک اہم امتحان کی حثیت رکھتا ہے ۔ انہوں نے کہا ’فرقہ وارانہ تشدد کا خاتمہ ان جرائم کے ذمہ داروں کے قانون کے دائرہ کار میں لاکر سزا دیے بغیر ممکن نہیں ہے۔ ‘

بریڈ ایڈمس کا یہ بھی کہنا ہے کہ حکومت پاکستان شعیہ فرقے کے قتل عام پر خاموش تماشائی کا کردار ادا نہیں کر سکتی۔

تنظیم نے پاکستان کی وفاقی و صوبائی حکومتوں پر شعیہ فرقے کے خلاف حملوں اور دوسرے جرائم میں ملوث افراد کو قانون کے دائرہ کار میں لانے کی ضرورت پر زور دیا۔

تنظیم نے اس بات پر بھی زور دیا کہ حکومت شعیہ آبادی والے علاقوں خاص طور پر کوئٹہ میں ہزارہ آبادی کے علاقوں میں سکیورٹی کو بڑھائے۔ اس کے علاوہ حکومت سنی دیوبندی تکفیری عسکریت پسند تنظیموں کے فوجی، نیم فوجی اور خفیہ ایجنسیوں کے ساتھ روابط کے الزامات کی بھی تحقیقات کرائے۔

بریڈ ایڈمس کے مطابق پاکستان کے سیاسی رہنما، قانون نافذ کرنے والے ادارے، عدلیہ اور فوج کو اس مسئلے کو اتنا ہی سنجیدگی سے لینا ہوگا جیسے وہ ریاست کو لاحق دوسرے سیکیورٹی خطرات کو لیتی ہے۔

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