Senators for realistic policy on protection of Hazaras

ISLAMABAD: Legislators in the Senate on Monday expressed deep concern over the resumption of target killing of members of Hazara community in Balochistan, insisting that the government must reach out to the protesting families and also frame a realistic policy for their protection.

Treasury senators contended that the government was fully aware of its responsibilities and alive to the situation, while the opposition criticised Prime Minister Imran Khan, Minister for Interior Shaikh Rashid and Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal for not paying attention to the devastated families of the victims. As the House resumed after the two-day break, dua was offered for the coalminers slain by terrorists and Osama Satti, who was killed allegedly by police in Islamabad.

Immediately after the dua, the PPP parliamentary leader Sherry Rehman on a point of public importance initiated debate on the Hazara killings. “11 coalminers have been shot dead in Balochistan just because they belonged to the Hazara community. If this is not ethnic cleansing, then what it is? This systematic killing of Hazara’s needs to be stopped,” she said.

“These coalminers were working for the development of our country and their security is the responsibility of the state. If there are check posts all over Balochistan, then how can the terrorists escape? Why was there a lapse. Hazara community members are sitting outside in the biting cold weather of Quetta along with the bodies of their loved ones, asking for an explanation and justice. It has been more than 24 hours since this happened and no action has been taken so far,” she pointed out.

Citing the Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights report, she said that more than 2,000 members of Hazara community had been killed since 2004. Moreover, more than 700,000 Hazaras had fled in a bid of better and safer life. This oppressed and persecuted community was targeted almost everywhere in Balochistan. Sherry Rehman regretted that despite the magnitude of this tragedy, PM or the CM of Balochistan had not visited the families: Making phone calls to condole is not enough; they should have gone to support the grieving families. “Our PM sat on the ground with half the cabinet members when something similar happened to the Hazaras in the past. What is PM Imran Khan waiting for?” she questioned. She blamed the government’s flawed policies for the sufferings of the oppressed community and said that combating terrorism was a persistent and serious issue that required a strong strategic plan. “Where is the National Action Plan? Lack of government oversight has led to its monumental ineffectiveness,” she added. Leader of the House Dr Shahzad Waseem rose to strongly condemn the killings and sympathised with the victim families. He added the government was fully aware of its responsibilities and the prime minister immediately talked to chief minister, while the interior minister was also going there. He assured the House that those behind this gory act would be traced, and added that the incident should be seen as a broader picture, as there were reports of terrorist acts and their regrouping. “The government and its institutions are alive to the evolving situation. Terrorists and those behind them will be crushed again jointly by the government and the nation with unity,” he noted.

On the student’s killing case, Adviser on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan said that all present on the check posts had been arrested and case registered, which included Anti-Terrorist Act clauses, and judicial inquiry was ordered with representation from other departments, besides the police. He cited a Supreme Court judgement that how could those, assigned the duty of protecting public life, take their lives and that they be punished severely. The adviser added that the killing of a student in the federal capital was very tragic. The BNP-Mengal Senator Dr Jehanzaib Jamaldeni contended that they would not talk on the basic reasons of such incidents in Balochistan against the Hazara community, and their protection was impossible without paying attention to the fundamental issues. He complained that 10-12 government representatives were ever ready to target the opposition, but were silent on this massacre. He wondered the government was not going for police reforms. Senator Mir Kabir Shahi of the National Party noted that by 2010, killing of Hazara people had stopped and it has now started again; there was a need to ponder as to why it resumed. He added that two cops could not protect poor coalminers working in mountains. Senator Usman Kakar of the PkMAP said that owing to increased target killing and mounting sense of insecurity, many Hazaras had migrated to other parts of the country, including Karachi and Islamabad, while several had left the country.