Pakistan

International Human Rights Day: Call to address Balochistan’s problems

Government, military asked to take remedial measures.

Our Correspondent December 13, 2012

ISLAMABAD:

Speakers at a roundtable underscored the need to address the human rights violations and the law and order situation in Balochistan. They urged the civil and military institutions to take remedial steps and reforms in this regard.

The roundtable was convened by Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) to mark International Human Rights Day in Islamabad on Tuesday.

About 30 experts and political leaders from the region were present on the occasion. They emphasised on ensuring quality education, healthcare and security in Balochistan.

“Balochistan has become subject to regional geopolitics and receives global attention. It is no longer a mere domestic problem,” remarked Zafarullah Khan, a consultant at SPO.

Mukhtiar Chhalgari, regional head of SPO, said there are numerous cases of missing persons, sectarian violence, kidnappings, targeted killings, corruption and bad governance in the province, adding that inaction over such issues is adversely impacting the law and order situation.

“This tragedy is evident in the virtually non-functional sectors of the government, schools, public health services and basic infrastructural services, which, in rural as well as several urban settlements, is disengaging public from embracing the federal circle,” Naimatullah Gichki, a writer remarked.

Bolan Medical College Principal Tasnim Ashraf highlighted the healthcare situation. “Women and children have been the worst victims,” she said, pointing out that the maternal mortality rate in the country is around 272 per 100,000 births.

Doctors have been targeted in the past two years, among them 27 were killed, 16 kidnapped, 40 tortured and about 100 migrated from the province, she said. Moreover, with the ongoing confrontation between doctors and the provincial government, the healthcare system is “virtually paralysed,” she maintained.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2012.