KARACHI:
According to Article 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan, “All citizens are equal and entitled to equal protection of law.” Therefore, killing on the basis of is an open violation of the Constitution and undermines the authority of the law. The brutal killing of 11 Hazara coal miners clearly indicates the bleak future that the Hazara community has in Pakistan.
It is rather unfortunate that Hazara Shias have been suffering from sectarian violence for the past two decades in the form of bomb blasts, suicide bombings, and targeted killings. The harsh reality in our country is that there have been persistent waves of killings that systematically target minority and vulnerable groups. Even though we have raised our voices against the Indian brutality in IIOJK, felt the pain of the people killed in the 2015 Paris attack, and condemned Israel’s human rights violations on Palestinians; we have failed to empathise with the tragedy that the bereaved families of the Hazara community have faced. If we had been sincere, immediate action would have been taken.
It is hard to fathom how someone can so easily turn a blind eye to these gruesome murders? In the end, I must say that it is the responsibility of the state to protect its citizens from all external and internal threats. Unfortunately, officials are too busy protecting themselves rather than bothering about a few poor miners who were routinely killed.
Sameer Umrani
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, January 17th, 2021.
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