Ethnic cleansing: Pakistan urges halt to Rohingya massacre

Khawaja Asif offers humanitarian assistance as Muslim leaders criticise Myanmar

ISLAMABAD: With dozens of Rohingya killed and thousands forced to flee Myanmar, Pakistan on Monday called for an end to the ‘systematic’ and ‘organised’ violence against Muslim minority residents of the Rakhine state.

It came as Muslim leaders across the world condemned Myanmar for the violence as well as the conspicuous silence of Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on the issue.

Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif expressed his “deep anguish at the ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar,” a statement issued by the Foreign Office on Monday said.



Asif deplored the violence and serious human rights violations of the Rohingya Muslims, as well as violation of international humanitarian law.

He also expressed concern over the spread of hate speech and incitement to violence, discrimination and prejudice against Muslims and members of national ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities.

Nearly 90,000 Rohingya have flooded into Bangladesh in the past 10 days following an uptick in fighting between militants and Myanmar's military in strife-torn western Rakhine state. The impoverished region bordering Bangladesh has been a crucible of communal tensions between Muslims and Buddhists for years, with the Rohingya forced to live under apartheid-like restrictions on movement and citizenship.



Noting the repetitive pattern of violence, Asif called for “effective measures to prevent the recurrence of such violence, providing security to all and upholding the rights of each individual to live and move without fear and discrimination.”

He underscored Islamabad’s constant support and humanitarian assistance for oppressed Muslim populations, including those in the Indian-occupied Kashmir and Palestine, as well as the Rohingya Muslims and called for implementing resolutions of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) countries.

“Pakistan supported the implementation of the resolution on the situation of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, adopted by the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers earlier this year that, inter alia, calls upon OIC member states to alleviate the suffering and hardship of the Rohingya Muslim minority by providing humanitarian assistance in the spirit of Islamic solidarity,” he said in the statement.

However, Asif was also critical of the ‘collective failure’ of the Muslim world on stopping violence against Muslims in different parts of the world.



“Persecution of Rohingya, Kashmiri, Palestinian, and Muslim minorities is a collective failure of religious, political leadership of the Muslim world,” Asif wrote on the microblogging platform Twitter.

UN urged to take action

Politicians, including former president and head of the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) Asif Ali Zardari, condemned the violence in Myanmar and urged the United Nations to immediately step in for an end to the ongoing genocide.

“The genocide and massacre of Muslims in Myanmar will only widen the space for militants,” he warned over the ‘ethnic cleansing’ there.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah said they would take up the issue in the next session of the lower house even as Zardari called on the government to offer a stronger response.

“Ironically the West, which even advocates the rights of animals, is silent over the worst cruelties on Muslims in Burma and occupied Kashmir,” Shah said.

Suu Kyi criticism

Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Prize for resisting the military Junta and was brought into office with much fanfare last year, was criticsed for her silence over the crises – including by another Nobel laureate.

"Every time I see the news, my heart breaks at the suffering of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar," said Malala Yousafzai, who had survived after being shot in the head by the Taliban, said in a statement on Twitter.

"Over the last several years I have repeatedly condemned this tragic and shameful treatment. I am still waiting for my fellow Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to do the same," she added.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman also questioned Suu Kyi's silence.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had last week accused Myanmar of ‘genocide’ against the Rohingya, said on Monday: "Unfortunately large massacres have taken place in Myanmar. Humanity has remained silent...”

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met Suu Kyi as well as Myanmar's army chief General Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw on Monday in a bid to pressure the government to do more to alleviate the crisis.

Saudi Arabia reaches out to UNSC

Saudia Arabia’s embassy at the United Nations, in a tweet, condemned the recent attack on Myanmar’s Rohingya population, adding that it has reached out to the Security Council members for a UN resolution on the issue.



“Acting upon KSA responsibility as the leader of the Islamic Ummah. Saudi Arabia has called for a resolution to condemn the atrocities and human rights violations committed against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar,” said the tweet.

“KSA has reached out to members of the Security Council to address the recent human rights violations against the Rohingya on its agenda. KSA has expressed its concern to Secretary General, which resulted in a condemnation from the United Nations. Upholding its responsibility. Saudi Arabia will continue its efforts to find a lasting solution to the plight of the Rohingya Muslims,” it added

WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AFP and News Desk