June 2008 Edition
Shia Massacres in Pakistan and POK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) Tantamount to Genocide
Behlol Dana & Chicken Kebab
Dear Friends!
The link below throws light on Shia genocide in Parachinar.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2008/04/080430_kurram_jirga_sen.shtml
Parachinar
is a region of Pakistan situated in the northwestern part of the
country. Twenty years ago, 80% of its inhabitants were Shias. Today
Shias make up less than 55% of the total population. Demographic
changes have occurred due to continued massacre of Shias. As a result,
many have fled the region. Those still living there are being treated
like second-class humans, waiting for their turn to be slaughtered. To
generate fear among local people, the Taliban have videotaped Shia
slaughter. In one tape, a Shia is shown being slaughtered like poultry
while a group of men are reciting Allahu Akbar in the background.
Documentary films and interviews of local political leaders suggest that Pakistani agencies are directly involved in Shia genocide. In many cases, they provide indirect support to the Pakistani and Afghan Talibans to carry the task. According to BBC-Urdu website, Pakistani government admits that more than 200 deaths occurred in Parachinar, however, locals claim more than 600 deaths in less than four months period.
If we compare the statistics with Iraqis killed in 2008 by bomb attacks, the death toll of Parachinar alone exceed that of total deaths in Iraq.
As a reference, let me state the incident of Gilgit’s Shia massacre of 1988 when thousands of Taliban traversed more than 500 kilometers of mountainous terrain on the Karakoram Highway to arrive at Gilgit and Baltistan while Pakistani police and army stood silent at the check posts and let them pass. Three weeks of blood-orgy continued afterwards which involved utilization of heavy machinery and razing eight Shia villages to ground. While thousands of people perished and women were raped in the senseless one-sided attack, government looked the other way. Today, with the blessings of Pakistani agencies, Shias are a minority in Gilgit.
Next stop: Parachinar
But even more outrageous is Pakistan’s continued claim as "champion of human rights and custodian of Muslims around the world, especially the Kashmiris".
After the ‘successful’ genocide in Parachinar and Gilgit, does Pakistan have the room to talk about human rights violations against Muslims in Indian Kashmir, Bosnia, Chechenya or anywhere else in the world??? Isn’t it more appropriate for Pakistan to first stop State-sponsored Muslim (read ‘Shia’) killings in its own country before pointing fingers at others??? I mean who is going to take this country seriously given its double standards on a variety of issues that affect today’s world. Let us analyze what the Pakistani political pundits have to say:
They say, militancy in Kashmir is legitimate (cause India is enemy) but freedom movement in Xinjiang / East Turkistan is condemnable (cause China is a ‘friend’). Wait a second. Aren’t the majority of the people of Xinjiang, who desire freedom from China, Muslims??? As per the ‘so-called’ Two-Nation theory, shouldn’t Pakistan be supportive of the separatist movement in Xinjiang….NO??
They say, Muslim massacres of Bosnia, the Philippines and Chechenya is a crime but massacre of three million Bangladeshis by Pakistani armed forces in 1971 was not (cause Bengalis were instrumental in breakup of Pakistan)
Wait again….Bangladeshis are also Muslims and still Pakistani army massacred three millions of them? Another deviation from the principles of the infamous “Two Nation Theory”. And then, weren’t the Bangladeshis struggling for their freedom the way Kashmiris are doing now? So, why to support Kashmiris while commit genocide against the Bangladeshis?
They say, it was necessary to divide India in 1947 and achieve self-determination for the Muslims but when the same right is desired by the Balochis and Sindhis of today’s Pakistan, they are labeled as traitors. So, are we saying that Muslims of India were traitors too for breaking up united India ??? No? we are not?
They say, Kashmiri freedom movement is ‘good’ if Kashmiris join Pakistan. But if they desire independence?…well, those who propose a third option are American agents.
Wait a minute…are you saying that those who propose merger with Pakistan are your agents??
Then they say: We helped the west disintegrate USSR because they were communist and did not believe in God.
Wait….China is also a communist country massacring Muslims in Xinjiang. So, how come China is time-tested best friend of Pakistan???
They say, it is essential to have regular commercial traffic across the Punjab border but more than ten thousand divided families of Baltistan and Ladakh do not deserve the same right and they can wait another 100 years for this ‘privilege’ (cause people of Baltistan are a ‘threat’ to Pakistani interests while Punjabi businessmen can be allowed to make few billions here and there enhancing “peace through trade” across the border.)
Then they insist that Hurriyat Conference is the sole representative of the people of J&K even though they have no support in regions like Ladakh, Baltistan, Jammu and Gilgit. So how come a political party of Kashmir valley becomes “the sole” representative of the entire State of J&K?? After all, Kashmir Valley is only 11% of the total landmass of J&K. So can a party that does not represent 89% of the landmass be the sole representative of the entire J&K? Well, yes, since ISI said so.
Shouldn’t the same formula be applied to PDP, JKNC or Panthers Party?? Well, No, cause ISI does not think that way….just don’t argue, OK?
And so on….
A whole book can be written on the 60-year long ad-hoc and shifty Pakistani foreign policy which clearly manifests the ultimate hypocrisy. No wonder Pakistan has become the laughing stock of the rest of the world. Now when Pakistan ‘demands’ self-determination and human rights for Indian Kashmir, the international community points fingers at her while demanding the same rights for the people of Gilgit and Baltistan.
Pakistan blames India for today’s problems in J&K and labels it as “the occupying force”. As a matter of fact, it is Pakistani armed forces and civilian administration who, according to repeated UNO resolutions on J&K, are required to withdraw from Gilgit, Baltistan and AJK before any action by other parties. The UNO resolutions clearly mention that as the first step towards a lasting solution to J&K dispute, UN forces must replace Pakistani occupying soldiers, and local people should receive complete political autonomy. But I guess, Pakistan is among the stakeholders, who benefit more from a continued impasse and bloodbath in J&K than if peace prevails. Or that in an illiterate society like that of Pakistan, who has the sense to pay attention to the UNO resolutions on J&K?
I would like to quote Ayaz Amir, member Pakistani Parliament, from his article, 'the end of another fairytale'. He says: "What a nation, born amidst one fairytale — that this was going to be a country dedicated to the greater glory of Islam — and thriving forever on other fairytales.".........
Link to the article is
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=110040
The irony is not that Pakistan is built on fairytales and 60 years gone, we are moving farther and farther away from reality. A sand castle is bound to face such fate so no surprises in this regard.
But irony is that today, the people of Gilgit and Baltistan are at a threshold where they have no ‘freedom’ to decide whether to become part of this 'land of fairytales' and live forever on false promises while being massacred and converted into minority in their own land, or to rethink and make better choices.
In the land of fairytales, our situation is like that of Behlol Dana, a Persian mystic, who was so poor he could not pay for a chicken kebab. While standing in front of Kebab kiosk, he realized that a loaf of hardened bread is sitting in his robe which he took out and tried to soften over the dampness of kebab steam. As the bread loaf softened, he started eating it.
The kiosk owner demanded Bahlol to pay money for using the heat and steam of kebabs which he used to soften the bread. Bahlol agitated since he never ate the kebabs and refused to pay for the smell and dampness of the meat transferred to his bread.
Bahlol Dana had the sense and integrity to agitate and refuse to pay for something he did not get.
On the other hand, people of Gilgit and Baltistan are paying the price for the continued false promises of 60 years and worst is that Pakistan still doesn’t have the capacity to deliver while 60 more years will go by. Kargil war and its impact on Gilgit and Baltistan is one kind of a price that the locals are still harvesting. More than four thousand youth perished as canon fodder during the war which Pakistan imposed on the locals. Closure of Line of Control and historical trade routes towards Ladakh is another economic price locals are paying for the selfish designs of Pakistani regime. More than ten thousand divided families will be able to unite if Pakistani regime show some compassion and open Kargil road.
Pakistan is milking abundance of natural resources of Gilgit and Baltistan and siphoning the revenues to coffers in Islamabad while keeping local people deprived of basic rights. The locals, for instance, cannot cast vote to choose their representatives to the Parliament. Gilgit and Baltistan are the only colonies of today’s world where inhabitants are denied the right to cast vote since they are part of a dispute. They cannot access the Supreme Court, hence deprived of justice. They still yearn for proper educational and health facilities. Clean drinking water and sanitation facilities are still a dream in majority of the villages. Electricity, given that people in Lahore and Karachi are facing extreme shortage, is a delusion need not be mentioned.
Millions of thanks to God, the time has not yet arrived, when people of Gilgit and Baltistan will be forced to commit suicide for shortage of food or bound to sell their children to make a living. Please do not think it as a sick joke. In the Pakistan of twenty-first century, people are literally selling their children to buy flour and milk. Women along with their children are jumping in front of moving trains to end their miserable existence while our rulers boast the Islamic credentials of Pakistan on TV. In the glorious Citadel of Islam, when basic human rights are categorically denied, avoiding genocide seems a far-fetched dream for the people of Gilgit and Baltistan.
Fortunately, in the same twenty-first century, the international community has a much better sense of the socio-economic, religious and political deprivation that has become the ‘fate’ of the majority of the people of Sind, Balochistan, Gilgit and Baltistan.
Does Pakistan still think that the Kashmiris will kneel and throw themselves upon Pakistani land if they are given the option to decide their future country?
The delusions of grandeur continue!!!!
Related Articles:
A Letter from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir
The Language and Culture of Baltistan
Jammu & Kashmir: Self-Determination and Secession
The Struggle for Self-Determination and Democratic Rights in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK)
Blasphemy Laws and Intellectual Freedom in
Pakistan
Constitutionally Sanctioned Gender Oppression
Back for other selections from South Asian Voice for other articles on issues confronting India and the region.
Also see South Asian History or Topics in Indian History for relevant essays that shed some light on the history of the subcontinent. For instance, see The 2-Nation Theory and Partition for a more detailed and historical perspective on the subject of India's vivisection.
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