News
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Sherry condemns murder of three Hindu brothers in Sindh
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Jinnah Institute President, Member National Assembly (MNA) and former Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sherry Rehman has joined voice with all human rights organisations in condemning the murder of three Hindu brothers in Shikarpur district on November 9.
She also moved an Adjournment Motion in the National Assembly on Thursday against this heinous act.
According to reports, three brothers identified as Dr Ajeet Kumar, Dr Naresh Kumar and Dr Ashok Kumar were gunned down due to an altercation with the Muslim Baban Khan Bhayo tribe over a dancing girl, just meters away from the local police station. The victims had been requesting police protection after earlier threats were made to their lives but police blatantly disregarded these requests and men on a motorcycle sprayed the brothers with bullets by in their village.
The family members of the victims have expressed dissatisfaction over the FIR registered against the Bhayo clansman believing it to be largely fabricated, leading to the provision of some benefit of doubt to the accused despite the heinous nature of the crime.
“This kind of open bias on the part of a state institution towards a minorities group not only amounts to violation of constitutional rights of minorities, it also creates mistrust over the state’s role as guarantor of a citizen’s protection,” said Sherry Rehman, adding, the Shikarpur incident calls for a serious investigation into the role of local police officials who ignored the pleas of protection from the victims. The suspension of the SHO in Chak police station remains a disproportionately weak response to the abominable nature of this crime, she added.
The MNA stated that the gruesome killings were “a reflection of the fact that we as a majority are still silent in condoning the discrimination and rampant persecution of citizens based on their religious background. The government has verbally condemned the murders but it remains an indisputable fact that religious minorities will not feel safe and free in an increasingly hostile and predatory environment for non-Muslims until the deep-rooted issues surrounding faith-based violence begin to be addressed.”
She pointed out that Pakistan needs a major overhaul in its social and legislative framework to pave the way for a rights-driven approach towards issues related to minorities and the disadvantaged. The idea that crimes against religious minorities can easily escape accountability must be challenged, Sherry Rehman said, adding, to effectively avoid further abuse and to address the perpetual vulnerability and fear amongst religious communities, greater transformative measures need to be taken on an immediate basis.
To start with, any hate crime, which results from the discrimination on the basis of any individual’s faith or background should be treated as a case of aggravated assault, and penalised as such.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk