The story of the Umerkot Hindu community’s long march to Karachi some days ago merits re-telling. As many as 15,000 Hindus from Umerkot district, travelled to the Sindh capital to demand their rights and equality as citizens of Pakistan. They succeeded in persuading the representatives of the provincial government to sign a memorandum of agreement for addressing their grievances.
The event offers another example of the state functionaries’ lack of problem management skills. The immediate provocation to the protesters was the way the police had dealt with the murder of two Hindu brothers from Umerkot, both traders. But their woes had been piling up for quite some time. They referred to a string of attacks on non-Muslim communities and attacks on their places of worship in Umerkot and elsewhere. Their most recent complaint related to the killing of two men in a “police encounter” and branding them as murderers on the run.
The marchers made the following demands: a judicial inquiry into the two traders’ murder should be held by a tribunal headed by a superior court judge and the local community consulted on its terms of reference; a thorough probe into instances of kidnapping for ransom; and non-Muslim citizens, who constitute a majority in Umerkot, should have a say in the selection and posting of local officials.
The demands also focused on the urgent need to investigate Thar’s humanitarian crisis, especially lack of food, drinking water and healthcare and the drought. They demanded that the government must implement the SC directives in the June 2014 judgement. As Sindh departments responsible for minority affairs have ignored non-Muslims, especially scheduled castes, they wanted a body to probe the matter.
No sane Pakistani will find anything wrong with these demands. Three representatives of the marchers and two civil society facilitators held negotiations and signed the following agreement. The authorities will redouble their efforts to identify and arrest the killers of the two traders within the shortest possible time.
The report by DIG Sanaullah Abbasi will be shared with the negotiation committee and the victims’ families within four days. If the report is not found satisfactory, a fresh inquiry will be ordered.
The victim families will be compensated within two weeks. The process of setting up a branch of the Citizen Police Liaison Committee at Umerkot will be initiated.
A joint committee will be set up for action on the marchers’ demands. The government will ensure that the protesters will not be intimidated.
Just as there was nothing extraordinary about the Umerkot marchers’ demands, what they have been offered amounts to the minimum a responsible government must guarantee its law-abiding citizens. The Umerkot group deserves to be commended for their initiative, though it came only after their cup of patience was about to overflow. The authorities also earned credit by displaying a spirit of accommodation.
The Umerkot Hindus plight should be seen in the context of declining standards of protection for minorities. The killing of Ahmadis and Shia professionals continues unabated and blasphemy cases are acquiring more and more weird forms. The police as a rule are reluctant to extend the victims due protection of law.
The recent killing of a widely respected teacher in Karachi revealed a new stage in organised efforts to punish people for their faith. A fatwa was used to set the stage for Prof. Auj’s extermination.
The seminary that was alleged to have issued the fatwa declared the document forged. That may be true but forged fatwas are only meant to secure results genuine edicts guarantee. Thus the incident should be seen as a new tactic to legitimise foul murder.
What makes the situation unbearable is the absence of any sign that the state is prepared to protect the victims of extremism. Like the Umerkot marchers, all minorities hailed the SC judgement of June last as it stressed the creation of a framework for improving the minorities’ protection. Lack of any sign of implementation of the verdict is adding to the minorities’ sense of despair. Unless the government displays will to take action it will be impossible to hope for a change for the better.
By arrangement with Dawn
