The Sin of Being a Hazara

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published as a Cover Story in March issue of Newsline Magazine.

 

Brain drain from Balochistan: Story of Ali Raza – a Hazara engineer who was hounded out of Pakistan

Ali Raza, second left, discussing Hazara killings with Norwegian MPs.

Ali Raza, like most youth of his community, grew up in Quetta with ambitions of becoming a ‘big man’ and serving his people and country. Despite facing countless hardships, he had finally made it. He was now an engineer – a prestigious profession in Pakistan’s largest but most underdeveloped and poverty-striken province, Balochistan.

Raza, a Shia from Hazara, had no idea that his home province would be overrun by terrorism, militancy, discrimination and hatred. He was probably unaware that the thousands of religious seminaries that were mushrooming across the province were tasked to produce hundreds of non-state actors who could be used in clean-up operations against anybody labelled as ‘impure’ by their external and internal sponsors.

Raza’s first job was as a systems engineer, at the regional office of the National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) in Mashkay in Balochistan’s Awaran district. He joined in August 2005, and only a couple of months later received a letter saying, ‘Shias are infidels and deserve to be killed.’

“I used to ignore such leaflets but one day a couple of armed and masked men broken into the NADRA office looking for me. I had just returned from my vacations and was luckily at a friend’s house that day.” Raza quit his job out of fear.

Subsequently, in 2006, he joined the Balochistan University of Engineering and Technology, Khuzdar, as a lecturer but he was not made to feel welcome. “I faced prejudice even from the university administration. They used to call me ‘settler bhai’ – a term otherwise used for outsiders,” he explained bitterly. “I was not allotted a room at the teacher’s hostel at the university for nearly a month. Later, I had to leave the university when I found myself on a hospital bed after being hit on the head one morning just as I emerged from my room.”

Disappointed with government offices, he chose Alcatel-Lucent, a global telecommunications equipment company. Things ran smoothly, but this was short-lived. Soon Raza started receiving ‘death threats’ at his office located in New Al-Gilani Street, Zarghoon Road, Quetta. “Don’t come to the office if you want to live,” the letters read. “We were three Hazara engineers employed there,” says Raza. “I avoided going to office afterwards and used to go directly to the working sites from home.”

That didn’t solve the problem, and Raza eventually resigned in October following “threatening phone calls.”

Fed up of the discrimination and hostility, Raza decided to leave Pakistan for Norway and stay there until the situation at home improved. Meanwhile, he enrolled for an MSc degree in ICT (Information & Communication Technology) from the University of Agder.

But the law and order situation in Balochistan did not improve. Rather it continued to deteriorate day-by-day and reached its peak in 2012, which was the deadline set by the banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) for the Hazara Shias to leave Pakistan in threatening letters distributed in Quetta.

According to a report published by the Norwegian Peace-Building Resource Center (NOREF), “the surge in LeJ violence against Hazaras is related to the growing presence of Afghan and Pakistani Taliban militants in Balochistan: the extremist Sunni Taliban have historically been anti-Shia and anti-Hazara, and their financial and operational links with LeJ have bolstered sectarian violence in the province… As such, the sectarian violence in Balochistan has an ethnic dimension.”

And the onslaught continues. Around 115 innocent lives were lost in about 60 targeted attacks in 2012 and nearly 200 have been killed this year in two separate bomb blasts. The government of Balochistan and the law enforcement agencies remain mere spectators, leading to a feeling of hopelessness and despair among the Hazaras of Balochistan. Most of the low-level government employees belonging to the Hazara community have either quit their jobs or taken long leave in order to avert any further attacks.

Hazara Graveyard, Mehrabad.

Many traders, businessmen and shopkeepers have sold their properties at throwaway prices. Then there are those who have temporarily shut down their businesses and are waiting for the situation to improve. Their movements have been strictly restricted to their own enclaves.

The discrimination against this ethno-sectarian minority was also noted in a report of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) released last August that said: “The administration seems to bear ethnic and sectarian biases against the Hazara-Shia community. Since the new government assumed charge, not a single challan (charge sheet) had been presented in courts against the accused. The accused are arrested in the morning and released in the afternoon. No government or public official had ever condemned the targeted killing of members of the Hazara community nor come to condole the murders or offer any compensation to the victims’ families.”

Recently the daily Dawn carried a report about the photographs of Hazara police martyrs being torn to shreds inside the government building and the name plates outside the offices of Hazara police officers being broken, which indicates the extent of hatred against the community.

Ali Raza is not the only Hazara Shia professional to be hounded out of Pakistan. He is just one example of this enforced brain-drain, which has not only caused irreparable damage to the community, but also to the instability-struck province as a whole.

Will Raza forget his unpleasant past? “No, not at all. It is impossible to disconnect yourself from your homeland, from your people and from your childhood place. Isn’t it?” he replied.

He has played an active role in organising protest rallies against the ‘genocide’ of his people in front of the Norwegian parliament. He led the Hazara delegation in a meeting with Norwegian politicians, Mrs Marit Nybakk of the Labour Party and MP Akhtar Chaudhry of the Socialist Party, in the Parliament House in Oslo and asked them to put pressure on the government of Pakistan to protect his community.

Raza himself has lost two of his cousins to terrorism. His wife’s only brother was killed in 2004, but he is unwilling to give up his fight against terrorism in Pakistan, in spite of the continuing threats.

“My family still lives in Pakistan. I miss my two-and-a half-year old child very much. I see him via Skype. But this is not enough for a father to express his love,” he says emotionally. “Nowadays being a Hazara is a crime in Pakistan.”

Raza’s fears proved true. Just when I was done with this interview, twin blasts killed 106 people on Alamdar Road, a Hazara dominated area of Quetta. This time the Hazara community refused to burry the dead bodies. ‘there is no more space in the graveyard’, said Ejaz Hussain, an attandant of the sit-in protest.

There was a almost a complete media-blackout, as usual, for the first day of the sit-in protest which was attended by thousands of people including women and children, but the social-media had informed that people across Pakistan who took to the streets to express solidarity with the protesters in Quetta which forced the media proper to report the incident. Protest rallies were held across the world, including Norway, where Raza and his co-activists staged candel-light vigils in front of Noweigian parliament in Oslo which was attendent by the country’s activists and politicians.

Protest demonstrations continued across the globe, from Canada to Australia and Mongolia et el, even after removal of Nawab Aslam Raisani’s governemnt and imposition of Governer’s rule in Balochistan.

“None has been captured for all these massacres, despite video-tapes being available [reffering to videos of Mastung and Akhtarabad massacre where Hazara men were taken off the bus and slaughtered] and those responsible being known to the Pakistani authorities.” Said Reza Javid, one of the organizers of a protest rally in front of Swedish parliament in Stockholm on January 18. “Those responsible for the genocide of Hazaras have to be arrested and tried in the court of law and only then we can trust the Pakistani authorities who had previously also promised to provide security to the community, but all proved false”.

Removal of the provinncial governemnt was more of a morale victory for the protersters but the sense of insecurity still exists among the members of the community who remain restricted to their own specific localities. “Targeted operations against the terrorists’ known camps and areas”, in Javid’s words, “was the actual demand which hast yet to be met.”

Over a hundred died, among them women and children, more than 200 sustained serious injuries when a powerful bombed ripped through a busy vegetable market in Hazara Town on 16th February 2013. This time the Governor of Balochistan, Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi, openly blamed the intelligence and security forces for the failure to prevent the attack.

The onslaught against the ethno-sectarian minority may resume unless the terror networks are dismantled. Around 50,000 Hazaras have left Pakistan over last one decade. Ali Raza is an example of the enforced brain-drain which has not only created an unrepairable damage to the community but to the entire instability-struck province.

Dr.Saleem Javed is freelance journalist and human rights activist from Quetta. He tweets at @mSaleemJaved and can be reached at dr.saleemjavid[at]gmail.com

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published as a Cover Story in March issue of Newsline Magazine.

Searching for protection

This discussion was aired on Al-Jazeera English after rumors of Hazara youths picking up arms to defend themselves as the government and security forces had blatantly failed to protect them from the Al-Qaeda linked terrorists outfits.

For viewers in countries where Youtube is banned: 

Is Pakistan’s government unable to provide security for its own citizens? Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a banned Pakistani militant group, continues to target the Shia community in Balochistan province. After three deadly bombings this year claimed hundreds of lives, members of Pakistan’s Shia minority are taking up arms to defend themselves. We examine the ongoing violence against the country’s Shia community.

In this episode of The Stream, we speak to:

Mohammad Taqi @mazdaki
Columnist, Daily Times

Major Nadir Ali
Senior leader of Hazara tribe in Pakistan
minoritysupportpakistan.com

Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi @Ali_Abbas_Zaidi
plastictearz.wordpress.com
Pakistan Youth Alliance

Saleem Javid @msaleemjaved
Human rights activist
saleemjavid.wordpress.com

Sajjad Changezi @sajjad_changezi
Activist

Shehroz Hussain @shehrozhussain
Student
syedshehrozhussain.blogspot.com

World leaders asked to stop atrocities against Hazaras

Editor’s Note: This report is cross-posted from The Daily Times.

At least 271 renowned poets from 89 countries have written an open letter to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and President of the United States Barack Obama demanding an end to Hazara genocide in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The signatories are mostly national and international award winners including Austrian Nobel laureate, Elfriede Jelinek, French novelist Nancy Louise Huston, Wikileaks former spokesperson, Birgitta Jonsdottir, Beyond Margins Award winner, Amiri Baraka of USA, New Zeeland national Poet, Vincent O’Sullivan and President of International Poetry Festival, Gaston Bellemare.

The letter published on February 07, 2013 reads, “As recently as Thursday, January 10, 2013, more than one hundred Hazara were killed in an organised terrorist attack on the city of Quetta, Pakistan. In the past few years, more than a thousand Hazaras were killed in similar attacks in Pakistan.”

The poets have demanded the world leaders to “properly insure the security and safety of the Hazara people and culture” and to exert “diplomatic pressure on both the Afghan and Pakistani governments to immediately cease acts of discrimination against the Hazara.”

Although an absolute minority in Pakistan, the Hazaras are the third largest ethnic group in Afghanistan after Pashtuns and Tajiks. However, they have suffered centuries of persecution and prejudice at the hands of Afghan rulers, and recently massacred and apostatised by the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate. “In August 1998, the Taliban killed more than ten thousand Hazaras in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif,” the letter elaborates further.

Kamran Mir Hazar, a Hazara poet based in Norway, who has crafted the letter, believes that “the stories and the plight of Hazaras become unforgettable once they are embedded in the world literature.” In the poet’s words, “The poets are away from filthy political games and express themselves independently, which gives credibility to the campaign contrary to the political statements.” The letter has been translated in a number of major languages in order to get worldwide attention. “We are committed to raising the voice for the voiceless and persecuted community through literature, which is quite long lasting”, Kamran added.

President Asif Ali Zardari’s UK visit this year also coincided with an adjournment debate in the House of Commons about atrocities committed against the Hazaras in Pakistan. While British Prime Minister, David Cameroon was hosting Afghan and Pakistani presidents to talk about peace, a number of British parliamentarians including the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Alistair Burt, were holding a debate in the House of Commons on February 04, 2013.

MP Labour John Denham in his opening remarks mentioned the British Hazara community’s efforts in organising a lobby of parliament during the Holocaust Memorial Day. “That event asks us all each year to be aware that genocidal persecution on religious and ethnic grounds is not simply an appalling past event but an ever-present danger that we have to be aware of. The persecution of the Hazara community, in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan, is undoubtedly persecution for religious and ethnic reasons — it bears those strong hallmarks — and that is the issue I want to raise today”, he added.

Giving an account of the persecution faced by the ethno-sectarian minority in Pakistan John said, “The killings started in 1999. Since then, more than 1,000 Hazaras have been killed in Quetta, 3,000 or more have been injured, and 55,000 or so have been forced to flee to Europe or Australia. All of those came from a population of between 500,000 and 600,000.” While explaining the reasons of expressing specific concerns over this particular issue despite reports of sectarian killings across Pakistan, the MP said, “I understand that the Hazaras of Quetta are 33 times more likely to be killed by political violence than members of the wider Shi’a community in Pakistan. That constitutes a focus on a particular religious and ethnic group.”

“Hazara students in Quetta have dropped out of university, following attacks on student transport. Hazara people have also faced difficulty in accessing civil service jobs. As has already been pointed out, however, not a single terrorist has yet been prosecuted. On the rare occasions when individuals have been arrested, they have been released. The provincial governor has been replaced, but little action seems to have been taken as yet”, he further added.

John was of the view that the failure of the Pakistan authorities to safeguard the Hazara community is surely beyond doubt, but concerns remain about a much more sinister involvement. It is alleged that the intelligence services, the Inter-Services Intelligence, sections of which have a history of involvement with extremist forces, have links in some ways to the Laskhar-e-Jhangvi. “I want to put it on record that I do not know whether such links are documented or what the strength of the evidence is, but the concerns about those potential connections are widely shared among those I have spoken to”, John claimed.

Nodding to Denham’s speech Fiona Mactaggart of the Labour Party demanded a “proper judicial inquiry to expose what is happening and to call the Government of Pakistan to account.” The British parliamentarians asked Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office that “the plight of the Hazaras in Quetta should be explicitly raised when the conditions of aid to Pakistan are discussed.” “A decade ago, there were 300 students at the main university in Quetta. After all the death threats and the persecutions, there are not any today. About 80 percent of Hazara businesses have either had to be sold or closed down. There are 3,000 orphans or children living in poverty because the main breadwinner has been killed”, Conservative MP Iain Stewart added.

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Alistair Burt while responding to the parliamentarians’ demands reminded Pakistan of its founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s promises with quotes from his speech in the first constituent assembly. Jinnah said that there should be “no discrimination between one caste or creed and another” for Pakistan is founded with the “fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one state.” Although Pakistan has yet to fulfil Jinnah’s dream of a nation made up of “equal citizens of one state.” The Minister, however, appreciated President Zardari’s public acknowledgement about the problems faced by Pakistan’s minorities and promises that his government would work to end the discriminations.

The minister ended his speech by reminding Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, of her promises made at the universal periodic review of Pakistan in Geneva in October 2012. “As the House has made clear this evening, how the Hazara community and its issues are treated will form part of the judgment on how Pakistan is responding to the challenges it is rightly setting itself.”

The writer is a freelance journalist and human rights activist from Quetta. He can be reached at dr.saleemjavid[at]gmail.com

 

Enter: The governor

In the PIQUE, February 2013.

 

The remarkable protests by the Shia community and its sympathisers may have led to a pyrrhic victory that empowers the agents of destruction

It took almost three days for thousands of Shia protesters, mostly those of Hazaras descent and their supporters from other communities, not to mention political parties across the country, to obligate the federal government to spring into action. And meet the very first demand of bereaved families: send the Nawab Raisani-led provincial government packing.

Though the province is facing a dismal security situation since a decade now, the targeting of members of Shia community, including Hazaras, has escalated in the last five years. According to statistics issued by the home department on January 3, 2013, some 2,100 lives have been lost in 3,232 incidents of violence. Out of 3,232 incidents of firing, bombing and rockets attacks, 478 incidents were aimed at killing Shias, resulting in 758 deaths in which 338 were Hazara Shias.

In another incident of violence directed at Hazara Shias, twin blasts at Alamdar Road in Quetta killed 98 people. This time, the families of the victims refused to bury their dead, braved the chilly weather and kept protesting peacefully while carrying the coffins of their relatives. They demanded for the dismissal of the provincial government, for Quetta to be handed over to the Army for security, a ban on the activities of banned sectarian outfit Sipahe Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), working with a new name Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamat (ASWJ) and action against its militant offshoot, the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), which had consistently been accepting responsibility for every act of violence against members of the Shia community.

To express solidarity with Quetta mourners, small and large protest demonstrations and sit-ins sprung up in almost all the major cities and towns of the country, urging the federal government to execute their demands.

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf visited Quetta, and after a long day of consultation with the coalition partners, came to the sit-in and announced the sacking of the Raisani government, imposition of governor’s raj, taking action against perpetrators by delegating Frontier Corps policing powers and asking the Quetta Corps Commander to convene the process.

Along with almost all of the major political parties, with the exception of the JUI-F, the ruling partners in Balochistan endorsed the demand for the dismissal of Raisani government. PPP leader and Chairman Public Accounts Committee Nadeem Afzal Chan, along with Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, Fawad Chaudhry, Sheikh Waqas Akram and Ahmad Yar Hiraj wrote a letter to the President demanding the resignation of Nawab Aslam Raisani or his removal from office by imposing governor raj. They had also asked for the removal of Inspector General of Balochistan Police (IGP) Tariq Omar Khitab and the Balochistan Inspector General of Frontier Corps (IGFC) Major General Ubaidullah Khan Khattak.

Rana Gul Afridi, member ANP central council, defended the decision by the party central leadership to endorse the governor’s raj. He said that the though the provincial chapter of the party may have their disagreements but the governor’s raj may not be avoided as there was no other way to address the demands of the families protesting there.

Saleem Javed, a Hazara human rights activist and political commentator says, “removal of the Raisani government will not help improve the security of Hazara Shias at large. Because he was merely a helpless spectator who could neither stop the killings nor wanted to sacrifice his government in an effort to protect them.”

The coalition government in Balochistan, which comprised of almost all the parties having representation in Balochistan, with only three members of the opposition ( 1 independant and 2 opted out of PML-Q), have opposed the dismissal of the provincial government. JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman was the only one among the party heads who spoke against the dismissal and stressed on an in-house change. JUI-F MPA and senior minister in provincial cabinet, Maulana Abdul Wasey, too, had opposed the idea. They proposed Nawab Raisani’s resignation and insisted on electing a new leader of the house.

Ainullah Shams, Raisani’s health minister questioned the imposition of governor’s raj by referring to a similar situation in rest of the country. He pointed towards numbers of deaths, nature of killings and inability of the provincial governments in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to tackle the law and order situation.

On a question about Shia killings in the last five years and the involvement of anti-Shia outfits and the recent rise in their activities in parts of Balochistan, he replied, “We are democratic people and believe in dialogue and discussion. We have always shunned violence and opposed all those outfits who want to impose their ideology through violent acts.”

“We have been penalized for not approving direct Army involvement against the alleged anti-state elements in the settled areas of the province. After the imposition of governor’sraj, now they have no obstruction in their way to pursue the unwanted elements.” He also hinted towards state complicity with various militant outfits utilised for various internal and external objectives. “Who supports armed outfits, we both know.”

Prime Minister Ashraf announced that Frontier Corps had been delegated policing powers in the province to take action against the perpetrators of the attack. The representatives of the Hazara community have expressed their disappointment over the roles granted to FC. Most of the attacks on Hazaras have taken places in areas that were entirely controlled by the FC. Such as Spini Road, which connects Hazara Town to the downtown city.

It is a known fact that the FC is exercising policing powers for years. The Express Tribune had reported a conversation between the bench and IGP Balochistan Tariq Omar Khitab during a hearing of  Balochistan law & order case in the Supreme Court’s Quetta registry on the 3rd of September, 2012 as under: “Expressing concern over the recent spate of ethnic and sectarian violence in Pakistan’s largest province, a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry asked Khitab why the Frontier Corps had been delegated policing powers, despite being accused of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.”

Khitab maintained the police were short-staffed with at least 58 posts lying vacant in the province. “Officers are not available and that is why we are doing shoulder promotions.”

Saleem Javed agrees, “The Frontier Corps has been deployed in Quetta and surrounding areas for many years. It has always had the authority to do policing, albeit not publicly. With the public announcement of handing over policing powers to FC, the killings might decrease, in terms of number, for a couple of months.”

It must be noted that according to Supreme Court’s interim order in the Balochistan law and order case, the provincial government had lost its constitutional authority to rule the province as it has miserably failed to protect its people and their fundamental rights. During the proceedings of the above case, the Frontier Corps in Balochistan, too, was under severe criticism for their involvement in abductions and detentions of Baloch political activists under various charges as well as appearance of decomposed dead bodies of these detainees. The FC has been repeatedly accused of atrocities against the Balochs and documentary evidence have been provided to the SC of their involvement in such activities.

“Since the FC’s cavalier approach was one of the major reason of Balochistan government’s losing its authority, by packing up Raisani’s government without addressing the main problem of the FC’s highhandedness in Balochistan, the PPP may have done more disservice to the Hazara and Baloch. It was imperative to sack the IGFC along with Raisani” says Dr Mohammad Taqi, Daily Times columnist.

Baloch Nationalists parties have termed the imposition of governor’s raj a superficial change as the province was already under army control. “Although the provincial government was incompetent, governor’s rule was no solution to Balochistan’s problems.” says Akhtar Mengal chief of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal.

With the boycott of major political parties in the Baloch and Pashtun belts, the Balochistan Assembly was hardly a representative of the people of Balochistan. Its utter disregard for the miseries of the people and the overall situation in the province was an indicator of that point. Says Wajahat Masood, columnist and assistant professor at the Beaconhouse National University.

He further stated that the situation was similar to what had happened in East Pakistan when constituencies were distributed among political parties after the Awami League was opted out of the process. What General Musharraf had failed to achieve at the national level was achieved in Balochistan in 2008 general elections, forming a defunct provincial assembly.

He termed the governor’s raj as a face saving approach by the ruling coalition after they failed to drag the province out of the dismal situation. “Shia killings in Quetta were committed by the same outfits who are spreading havoc across the country, from Gilgit-Baltistan to Parachinar, KP, Fata and Karachi. It must be seen with the overall counter-terrorism and counter-radicalism strategy, which seems unlikely at the upper level.”

Also, it is feared that the security situation will likely worsen under the Governor’s rule, where the FC behemoth has been given unbridled powers. “An advisory council for the governor, including the Baloch, Pashtun and Hazara to have political oversight over the FC operation may still be possible,” says Dr Taqi.

Also the situation may have worst entailments for the upcoming elections. Baloch Nationalist Parties, who are ready to return and participate in the electoral process, are under constant pressure from the more radical factions. “An escalation in violent actions against Baloch activists will force the nationalists parties to opt out of the electoral process and bring the state-backed pliable Baloch sardars back to the house,” Dr Taqi adds.

A few months back, when the Supreme Court of Pakistan was glorified for taking on the situation in Balochistan, even a tiff and verbal exchange between the military and the judiciary was seen in that perspective; remarks by the honourable judges about FC and intelligence agencies were also appreciated. But the whole saga ended with aiming at seemingly non-existent provincial government. It seems federal government, too, has followed the same line. A gloomy security situation, killings of citizens by sectarian outfits, activities by banned outfits with new avatars, have been brushed aside with a cosmetic change and glamorising the same institutions that were considered major players in the sorry saga of Balochistan for decades.

As a friend commented, “We haven’t yet stopped from treating Balochistan like a colony.”

Ali Arqam is a Peshawar University graduate and a freelance journalist, who contributes to http://www.qissa-khwani.com

With the Raisani government gone, will Hazara killings stop?

Former Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani

Pakistan People Party’s Nawab Aslam Raisani came to power at such a time when all the major nationalist political parities had boycotted the elections and the province was struck by separatist insurgencies which had gained new momentum after Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti’s assassination in 2006. 



This was coupled by the military establishment’s change in its operational strategies towards Balochistan — from overt operations to more covert ones. As more and more Baloch nationalist activists began to disappear, more and more religious seminaries surfaced across Balochistan, aimed at converting the otherwise secular Baloch society into a religiously extremist one.

At the same time a huge number of Taliban fighters and hardliners had also taken refuge in Balochistan, particularly on the outskirts of Quetta, after their emirate was overthrown by the US-led NATO forces in assistance with the Northern Alliance. These Taliban fighters had now allied with sectarian outfits such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi who are thought to have ties with Pakistan’s military establishment. The Taliban-LeJ alliance, who are allegedly given a free hand to operate in Balochistan, is evident from one of their threat letters thrown into Hazara localities in Quetta last year: “Just as our fighters have waged a successful jihad against the Shia-Hazaras in Afghanistan, our mission [in Pakistan] is the abolition of this impure sect and people”.

Meanwhile, the mainstream secular political parties of Balochistan such as Balochistan National Party (BNP) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (Pk-MAP) had boycotted the 2008 general elections which created a huge political vacuum in the province. This paved the way for some political opportunists to win the elections and form the provincial government with almost no opposition. Instead of showing commitment to resolving the core issues of the province, they were more interested in holding ministries and finding ways of embezzlement to further enrich themselves as they knew it was their first and last chance.

The already troubled province descended further into chaos as the number of mutilated dead bodies of Baloch activists increased, demand of a separate Pakhtun province accelerated and attacks on Hazaras quadrupled. Extensive deployment of non-local Pakhtun-dominated Frontier Corps in various parts of Balochistan created a sense of insecurity among the Baloch population which, some activists believe, was aimed at creating a Baloch-Pakhtun divide.

The FC has been generally blamed for being involved in extra-judicial killings of Baloch political activists and running a parallel government in the province. On the contrary, the Pakhtuns felt that they are being marginalized through district quotas in education and services and not given enough share in power as both Governorship and Chief ministership were held by the Balochs. The Baloch say that the power actually belongs to the Frontier Corps which runs a parralel government in the province. Mahmood Khan Achakzai of Pk-MAP increased his demand of division of Balochistan (and restoration of British Balochistan) after the US Congressional hearing on Balochistan in 2012. Even discussions over Quetta’s city status and competition over its control reverberated in the drawing rooms.

On the other hand, Hazaras feel squeezed from all around for having been attacked by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Taliban while left out by both the provincial government and the Frontier Corps in addition to facing discriminations in educational institutions, government offices and civil services.

The ethno-sectarian biases towards Hazaras have been documented by a number of rights groups. A report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan released in August 30th, 2012 reads: “Hazaras have been already uprooted from Machh, Loralai and Zhob. It seems a campaign has been launched to terrorize the Hazara community so that they leave Quetta by selling their businesses and property at throwaway prices. Pamphlets have been left at their homes telling them to sell their houses and leave.”

The report further reads “administration seems to bear ethnic and sectarian biases against the Hazara-Shia community. Since the new government assumed the charge, not a single challan (charge sheet) had been presented in courts against the accused. The accused are arrested in the morning and released in the afternoon. No government or public official had ever condemned the targeted killing of members of the Hazara community nor came to condole the murders or offer any compensation to the victims’ families.”

There were also reports of provincial ministers being involved in targeted-attacks, kidnapping for ransom and land grabbing. Despite the fact that Hazaras had voted for PPP candidates in the previous elections, the party’s leaders sometimes even blamed the Hazaras themselves for the killings, instead of protecting them.

For instance, PPP MNA Ayatullah Durrani claimed during a live TV show that Hazaras kill each other to strengthen their cases of asylum in Australia. Such ruthless behavior enraged the community at large and not everybody considered this as an individual act.

Sectarian outfits such as Ahle Sunnat Wal Jama’at (former Sipah e Sahaba Pakistan) had no say in Balochistan before but in recent years they have managed to hold huge public rallies, conferences and congregations. They issue regular statements against Shias on local media but the province’s main political parties have not practically done anything to stop it as they consider, albeit falsely, that the venom of sectarian terrorism does not hurt them directly. The continuous onslaught against Shias, Ahmadis and Hindus has actually helped the criminals and land mafia who are enjoying immunity.

Amidst utter hopelessness, helplessness, sense of insecurity and frustrations, Hazaras this time refused to bury the victims of the twin blasts on January 10, 2013. They staged a three-day long sit-in alongside the coffins of their loved ones in subzero temperature on Alamdar Road, Quetta, demanding removal of Nawab Aslam Raisani’s government who had even mocked the community by offering “truckload of tissue papers for the bereaved families to wipe out their tears” after the Mastung massacre in 2011.

The protest was initially ignored by both the provincial and federal governments. However, as more and more people took to the streets across Pakistan and around the globe to express solidarity with the protesters, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf travelled to Quetta after three days and announced imposition of Governor’s rule in the province. This move apparently convinced the protesters to bury the dead bodies but did not satisfy the community at large in terms of security assurances. They had no other options as their immediate demand was fulfilled.

However, Ahmed Kohzad, General Sectary Hazara Democratic Party (HDP), who went on a three-day hunger strike along with his party leadership and workers, is not satisfied with the outcome of the protests and vowed to “resume our protests peacefully and through various means if the government does not ensure our security which can only be achieved by a targeted operation against the terrorists. Our demand is targeted operations against Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and its affiliates.”

“Military interventions and Governor’s rule are not the solutions. We demand an end to the killings, by any means possible. If not, we will be forced to knock at the door of international communities,” Ahmed replied to a question whether he thought the Governor’s rule would solve the problem.

Nawab Aslam Raisani, who had earlier sacked Jan Ali Changezi (the only minister from the Hazara community) due to his protests against the killings, said in interview from London to a private TV channel, “I expected this (being sacked) from last three years.” But he linked his removal to the Reko Diq copper-cum-gold mining project. “It [Quetta sit-in] was just an excuse. Sectarian killings take place everywhere, even in Indonesia,” said the ex-chief minister.

The removal of Raisani government and imposition of Governer’s rule caused an outrage among the political circles who were either directly affected by losing ministries or were critical of strengthening the undemocratic forces.  Balochistan Assembly rejected the Governor’s rule and called it ‘unconstitutional’. They have warned President Asif Ali Zardari to undo the notification of governor’s rule and if not, they would ‘stage province-wide protest demonstrations’.

Some Baloch nationalist parties have also expressed concerns over imposition of Governer’s rule and handing over policing authority to the Frontier Corps which, they fear, would be greatly used against Baloch activists. Nonetheless, the fact is that the Frontier Corps had been already enjoying policing authority in the past. So, other than removal of a spectator and helpless cabinet, nothing actually changed.

The fact is that attacks will not cease unless the terror networks are dismantled through targeted clean-up operations against Lashkar-e-Jhangvi hideouts and Taliban quarters in the province which seems unpredictable as long as the military establishment’s policy of ‘divide-and-rule’ towards Balochistan and policy of ‘strategic depth’ towards Afghanistan remain unchanged. Not to forget that Hazara leaders had at times blamed the Frontier Corps for its unwillingness to arrest the attackers.

Having said this, the frequency of attacks on Hazaras may decrease for a couple of months until a new civilian government replaces the current one to stand at the receiving end of the blame. At the same time, the Frontier Corps might apprehend a couple of low level LeJ operatives (to be released later, as usual) amidst an effort to make some headlines but the main target might be Baloch nationalists  and seperatists.

Last but not the least, there is a huge fear of ethnic and sectarian conflicts in the province if the situations remain the same. It is up to the people of Balochistan to either unite and fight to save their habitat or let the fire burn the whole jungle as it will not remain limited to just a single communityor area.

The author is a freelance journalist and human rights activist from Quetta. He can be reached at dr.saleemjavid@gmail.com

Note: This article was originally published in Dawn.com on 30th January, 2013. 

Victims of Quetta bombings buried amidst uncertainty

Note: Cross-posted from The Friday Times. 

About 106 people died in two bomb attacks on Alamdar Road in Quetta earlier this month, including peace activist Irfan Ali, journalists, policemen and volunteers who had rushed to the site of the first attack.

Banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) took responsibility for the attacks and vowed to launch more such attacks in future. The year “2012 was the deadline for them to leave the country”, the group said about Hazara Shias in a statement published in a local newspaper, “but it seems as if they love their property more than their lives. So we will not let them escape alive.”

According to reports produced by various human rights groups, more than 800 Hazaras have been killed in the last 10 years. Around 130 were killed in 2012 alone. At least nine were assassinated in the first week of 2013 in Quetta, Khuzdar and Machh districts of Balochistan.

The families of the Alamdar Road bombing victims refused to bury the dead bodies of their loved ones and hundreds of thousands of people took part in a sit-in protest alongside the coffins.

“We will not bury the dead bodies until Quetta city is handed over to the army,” said Mirza Azad, speaking on behalf of the Quetta Yakjehti Council. Another demand, in Azad’s words, was “getting rid of this corrupt PPP government that has been declared a failure even by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.”

“The police has totally failed to protect the masses while the paramilitary forces do nothing other than harassing the already affected members of the Hazara community by excessive and unnecessary body checks in and around Quetta city, while letting the terrorists go unchecked with tons of explosives and weapons,” said Jan Ali Changezi, ex-provincial minister, who was sacked last year by ex-chief minister Nawab Aslam Raisani as he had refused to attend an assembly session in protest against the killings.

The bodies were buried four days after the attack, on January 14

The Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) went on a hunger strike led by its chairman Abdul Khalique Hazara, on Mission Road in Quetta. “We demand the removal of the provincial government which should be replaced by a caretaker interim government with the consensus of all political parties in the province,” Khalique Hazara said. “We are democratic people and do not want a military takeover of the province or the city. However, we demand a fruitful clean-up operation against the terrorist outfits, their hideouts, and their facilitators under the supervision of the army and federal authorities within the framework of the Pakistani constitution.”

“The attack on Alamdar Road was a full-fledged preplanned terrorist operation against our community under the very nose of the provincial government, law enforcement agencies and the security establishment,” said Abdul Khalique Hazara. “How could the terrorists reach Alamdar Road with such a huge amount of explosives crossing those many security checkposts?” he asked. “We will call for international demonstrations. We will knock at the door of the international community if our demands are not met within three days,” he had warned.

“We will fight shoulder-to-shoulder alongside our brothers and by our attendance at the strike we would like to shame the otherwise ‘ghairatmand’ authorities who have all disappeared while failing to fulfill their duties,” said Advocate Jalila Haider Kamal, a woman activist. “If our demands are not met, we will call for the deployment of a United Nations peace force in Quetta where the sectarian terrorists and members of the Quetta Shura roam freely and kill.”

Thousands of Pakistani political workers and rights activists also took to the streets across the country to express solidarity with the victims of the terrorist attack. Politicians such as Imran Khan of PTI, Liaquat Baloch of Jamaat-e-Islami, Sadique Imrani of PPP, Dr Malik of the National Party, and Raza Haroon of MQM also joined them.

As pressure increased on the federal government, Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf visited Quetta on Sunday, 13th January, and announced the imposition of Governor’s Rule in the province for two months, during his meeting with the leaders of the Hazara community on Alamdar Road. The dead bodies were buried four days after the attack, on January 14.

The imposition of Governor’s Rule might satisfy the families of the victims momentarily, but it will not prove effective to curb the menace of terrorism and extremism without adaptation of a serious national strategy which seems unlikely in the near future.

Note: Cross-posted from The Friday Times.

A simple demand: no more dead bodies

Note: This piece was published in Dawn.com on 22nd January, 2013. 

QUETTA: A suicide blast at a snooker club on Alamdar Road, a Hazara dominated area of Quetta, left eight people dead on Thursday, January 10, 2013.  As ambulances arrived at the scene along with media persons and volunteers, another blast took place claiming 106 innocent lives including tv reporters, policemen, volunteers and peace activist Irfan Ali plus injuring 200 more.

Thousands of mourners including women gathered on Alamdar Road alongside the dead bodies of their loved ones and refused to bury the corpses for four days unless their demands were met.

The dead were finally buried after the government sacked the provincial government – but that measure was far from meeting the demands of the protestors.

What were the demands?

“It’s very simple: we want security. No more dead bodies,” said Ejaz Ali—Irfan Ali’s uncle who stayed with Irfan Ali’s coffin for three days.

“We already expected him (Irfan Ali) to be there at the site of the blast and giving a helping hand, so I called him and he said he was busy giving first-aid.  After a few minutes we heard another explosion…this time he didn’t pick up his phone.”

“His left hand was missing and his face was unrecognizable. We recognized him from his hair and jacket,” Ejaz added.

“He worked day and night for peace. Lately he was a bit hopeless but he was determined to continue fighting for peace…and he died for it. But we will not give up. We are proud of him and we will accomplish his mission, god-wiling,” he said.

“Everybody knows about the killers and their whereabouts. They have been proudly claiming responsibility for such attacks and vowed to continue their attacks. Their statements are being published in the media all the time,” Ejaz stated.

Not unlike previous attacks on the members of Hazara community, a banned militant outfit, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, called the local media and claimed responsibility for the attack and even vowed to launch more attacks “we had warned them to leave Pakistan last year but it seems as if they love their properties more than their lives. So now we are not going to even let them escape,” read the LeJ statement published in a local paper on January 11, 2013.

While gruesome attacks against the Shias dramatically escalated in recent years, the Hazara community has suffered the most due to unwillingness of the government and security forces to rein in the terrorists. Some have even pointed fingers at the security establishment for giving a free hand to the sectarian terrorist outfits such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and its affiliates.

“They want to paralyze our community educationally, economically and psychologically through a planned and very systematic terror campaign. It’s not just killing people. Our officers are being forced to leave their jobs. Our businesses are being closed. We are being compelled to sell our properties on throwaway prices and leave,” Ejaz said.

The situation in Balochistan in general and that of Hazaras in particular is very pathetic. In spite of the presence of huge security and intelligence agencies, the banned militant outfits carry out their attacks in broad-daylight with impunity and confidence. This has resulted in a perception that the authorities were either unmoved by the atrocities committed against the Hazaras or unwilling to react.

“The authorities are responsible for all of this. One should not expect a terrorist not to terrorize. It’s the state’s responsibility to protect its citizens. Are the law enforcement agencies afraid of  a bunch of terrorists? If yes, they should all resign. If not, then they must be allied with the terrorists—which is more likely. In either case, they have no right to rule,” Ejaz explained as to why he was hopeless.

A relative of one of the victims at the sit-in demonstration, Mehdi Hassan, standing beside the dead-body of his 4o-year old uncle, Shah Hussain, said, “Lashkar-e-Jhangvi hideouts are known to all. The government, military establishment and even judges are afraid of the terrorists but we are not.  They will not be able to kill each and every one of us.”

Among the dead bodies was Mirza Hussain’s as well. Hussain was a Hazara policeman who, with his colleagues, had reached the blast site to secure the area. His 33-years-old brother, Ramazan Ali, demanded  that “the killers be brought to justice”.

“We will only believe we are protected if they arrest and hang the killers,” he said.

The author is a freelance journalist and human rights activist from Quetta. He can be reached at dr.saleemjavid[at]gmail.com

Note: This piece was published in Dawn.com on 22nd January, 2013. 

Irfan Ali Who Died for Balochistan

Editor’s Note: This piece was originally published in The Baloch Hal

Irfan Ali, 6th from left, protesting against enforced disappearances in Balochistan. December 2011

Being a Hazara, Irfan Ali, was destined to collect the dead bodies of his community members ever since adolescence. He ceased to be just a Hazara or a Shia. He crossed every ethnic, sectarian or religious limits and became a true humanist.

Ali used to become a Baloch in sharing the pains inflicted upon the victims of enforced disappearances, kill-and-dump and decades of suppression.

He would become a Pakhtun in protesting against the murders of innocent Pakhtuns who have been killed in thousands either during US-led anti-Soviet war or US-led war on terror. Either at the hands of Al-Qaeda or by Taliban and it’s supporters.

He tweeted on December 22, 2012: “Quetta: All Hazaras are requested to observe shutter down strike against inhuman attack on Bashir Ahmed Bilour. Raise your voice against terrorism” (@khudiali)

He raised voice and organized protest demonstrations against all sorts of brutalities committed across the country in the name of religion, sect or ethnicity.

As ‘charity begins at home’, he vowed to concentrate his efforts to his province, Balochistan, first. He therefore founded ‘Human Rights Commission for Social Justice and Peace’ aimed at raising awareness about ‘child rights’, ‘access of information’, ‘human rights values’ etc. He aimed to establish ‘human rights resource centers in the rural areas of Balochistan’ and put forward practical steps in ‘social mobilization and capacity building for a tolerant society’ by conducting numerous workshops, seminars and meetings.

As a stronger believer of peace he left no stone unturned to strengthen ethnic and sectarian harmony among the brotherly nations of Balochistan. He traveled to various districts of Balochistan and met with local political and human rights activists to convey the message of love and brotherhood on behalf of his community amidst a huge conspiracy aimed at creating ethnic and sectarian clashes in the province.

As a courageous rights campaigner he not only spoke against the human rights violations, enforced disappearances, extremism and Talibanism in Balochistan on multiple forums but also attended numerous protest demonstrations–from Quetta to Islamabad alongside other activists.

Ali used to always remind the ‘secular Hazaras, Balochs and Pakhtuns to stand up against the menace of extremism, sectarianism and Talibanism, particularly in Balochistan’.

“If Baloch, Pashtoon, Hazara want a better future for their children, they must collectively get united and counter kindnappers and terrorists” He  tweeted on November 20, 2012. (@khudiali)

Nobody remained unaffected by the deteriorating law and order situations in the province, as he would always predict. Not only mass-killings but kidnapping for ransom, targeted killings of doctors, professionals and religious minorities etc were on the rise in the province and he sometimes expressed frustrations:

“Golden rule in Balochistan: Whoever raises its voice against injustice will be screwed; doctors, Balochs, Pashtoon, Hazaras. Only killers enjoy life” Ali tweeted on November 27, 2012.

Despite serious threats to his life he continued struggling for peace, social justice and equality and eventually he faced what was already expected. He loved ethnic and sectarian diversity. Used to always talk about the early days of his life when Balochistan was peaceful.

@khudiali: ”Hazara families of Machh and Khuzdar finally succumbed to the genocidal pressure & are moving out. Sad day for diversity in Balochistan” . This was his last tweet on January 1o, 2012.

Irfan Ali, in blood-stained coffin, protesting in front of Parliament House, Islamabad.

Irfan Ali, 33-years-old and newly wed, lost his life during one of the the systematic terrorist carnages on December 10, 2013 as he was giving first-aid to the victims of a blast which took place in a snooker club close to his home. 

The author is a freelance journalist and human rights activist from Quetta. He can be reached at dr.saleemjavid@gmail.com

Editor’s Note: This piece was originally published in The Baloch Hal

 

Silencing the voice of the voiceless

Note: This piece was originally published in Dawn.com on 12th January, 2013.

His parents named him Irfan Ali but he added ‘Khudi’ to it later on. He strongly believed in Iqbal’s ‘Khudi ko kar buland itna kay hurr taqdeer se pehlay … khuda banday se khud puchay bata teri raza kya hai’.

Ali had an intense devotion to education, which is why he was hugely disappointed when he, like many of his fellow citizens, was unable to complete his schooling due to the worsening security situation in Balochistan, particularly his home city – Quetta. His dream of becoming a social psychologist was never realised.

Not one to give up, he found the next best way to quench his thirst for knowledge: engaging with people from various ethnicities and religions. He would try and study every person he met, interacting with them to better understand their lives, their struggles. The honest effort he made in getting to know someone made him approachable and trustworthy.

Ali never remained a mere spectator to what was happening in his country, his province and particularly, his home city where members of his community were being unabatedly slaughtered. His voice rang loud and clear; mobilising the youth, and organising seminars and conferences to address the deteriorating human rights situations in Balochistan.

A peace activist

In early 2011, Ali actively launched the ‘Human Rights Commission for Social Justice and Peace’ organisation. This initiative was essentially aimed at raising awareness about the human rights violations in Balochistan and working towards solutions. Not remaining limited to his own community or province, he traveled across Balochistan and around the country to campaigning relentlessly for education, justice and peace for everyone.

Being a member of the persecuted Hazara community, Ali was very personally feeling the pain inflicted by terrorism, more so than most Pakistanis his age, and because of which he was ever-present, expressing condolences to and solidarity with the victims of terrorist attacks from Karachi to Peshawar to Gilgit and Parachinar.

Ali grew more determined as ethnic and sectarian clashes in Pakistan amplified, preaching tolerance, unity and love to anyone and everyone who would listen.

Ali and Shahzada Zulfiqar (Balochistan’s renowned journalist) at a meeting held by Aman Ettihad in Quetta aimed at sustaining ethnic and sectarian harmony.

Ali was of the view that Balochistan’s issues could be solved through dialogue. In his speeches and discussions, he would emphasise that extremism was being purposefully nurtured in the province, urging all ethnic groups of Balochistan to unite and resist it.

A representative

At the ‘Pakistan India Social Media Mela’ 2012, Karachi.

Representing Balochistan on multiple national forums, he enlightened his audiences about the ground realities in the province which he thought ‘were never portrayed in the mainstream media’. His focus became spreading awareness amongst ordinary Pakistanis about everything that was happening in the province that he believed were kept secret.

A true patriot

Taking part in #ProjectCleanUpForPeace in September 2012 when he and other Pakistani youths rushed to the streets to clean up the mess created by the angry mob who had protested against an anti-Islam movie.

Hurt by the anti-Islam movie, Ali entirely disagreed with the way the mob expressed their frustrations by burning up public property, rioting, lynching and threatening religious minorities in the country. He believed that ‘mutual respect, religious harmony, peace and social justice were the only way forward’.

Talking at the Balochistan University of Information and Technology on International Corruption Day in 2012.

Troubled by the ‘culture of corruption’ in Pakistan, Ali believed it was this very mentality that had paved the way for terrorists and enemies of the country to penetrate into sensitive institutions to cause instability.

A women’s rights activist

During a conference organised by Civil Society Advisory Group to UN Women Affairs, Lahore Nov 2012.

It was impossible for a man with a real heart to remain indifferent towards violence against women in Pakistan. And so, he didn’t organise a single event without engaging a notable number of women representatives.

Holding the banner for a 16-day campaign to stop violence against women.

At one such event called the ‘Gender Equality and Sensitization Session with Media’ at Laureds, Quetta, where I too had the honor to speak, I remember being overwhelmed by the sincerity Ali and his co-activists displayed in their efforts to improve women’s livelihood conditions.

A democrat

Whenever asked to suggest the three best solutions to the current crisis in Pakistan, Ali would reply with “Democracy, democracy, democracy!”

“Had Pakistan been ruled by a democratically elected governments from the very beginning, it would have been one of the most prosperous courtiers of the world,” he said during a workshop at Tajai Khan Sports Complex, Quetta in 2011.

A voice for the voiceless

A true, tireless human rights defender, he traveled across the country to raise his voice for the voiceless despite receiving direct and indirect threats.

He once tweeted:

Dismissed by the otherwise ultra-active Pakistani media, he never lost hope.

Dressed in blood-stained clothes while protesting in front of the Parliament House, Islamabad, against Hazara killings in Quetta.

As in the case of most attacks, Ali rushed towards the site of the bomb blast on Alamdar Road, Quetta, on January 10, 2013 to help the victims. He lost his life trying to save another – his death, a symbolic embodiment of his life.

Earlier that day, he had informed me about the letters being thrown into Hazara houses in the Machh and Khuzdar areas of Balochistan threatening them to leave the towns.

His last tweet also read:

Irfan Ali’s body along with 104 other dead bodies are still lying on Alamdar Road, Quetta surrounded by hundreds of thousands of mourners who have rejected to bury their loved ones unless the state of Pakistan promises to fulfill its prime duty — providing protection to its citizens.

For the better part of his life, Ali fought for all Pakistanis, regardless of race and religion. Will Pakistanis now fight for him?

Note: This piece was originally published in Dawn.com on 12th January, 2013.

State blamed for failing to control attacks against Hazaras

Reblogged from DAWN.COM:

Three members of the minority Hazara community were shot dead in Quetta on Thursday. This, barely a week after two brothers were targeted in the same city.

The second and third weeks of November saw an attack on the Shia Hazaras every other day.

While the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has stated that more than 800 Hazaras have been killed since 2001, the figure must surely have gone up given the increasing number of attacks.

Read more… 920 more words