Government has failed to protect Shias: Amnesty International

Rights organisation says failure to act against perpetrators adds to the toxic climate of vilification.

A day after multiple bomb blasts targeted two imambargah’s and a procession in Rawalpindi and Karachi, killing at least 25 people, Amnesty International has said that the government has failed to protect members of the sect.

According to a statement released on Thursday, the organisation said the government has had a poor track record of bringing the perpetrators of violence against Shia - and those who incite them - to justice. “From ethnic Hazaras in Quetta and communities in the Tribal Areas, to men and women in Gilgit all the way down to Karachi, people of all walks of life live in constant fear of deadly violence,” Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia-Pacific Director, Polly Truscott.

“Failure to act sends a dangerous message that the authorities are unwilling or incapable of protecting their citizens adding to an already toxic climate of vilification on the basis of religion that has fuelled so much violence in Pakistan this year.”

The Pakistan Taliban (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan) has claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s bombings in the cities of Rawalpindi and Karachi, which came as the Shia community marked the holy month of Muharram.

“These attacks demonstrate the Taliban’s utter disregard for human rights and basic principles of humanity,” said Truscott.

“Unfortunately the Taliban are just one of the groups implicated in attacks on Shia Muslims resulting in hundreds killed or injured in Pakistan this year.”

Amnesty International has recorded at least 39 attacks on Shia Muslims since the start of 2012.

“The Taliban and others must cease all such attacks and the authorities must bring the perpetrators to justice through prompt investigation and fair trials,” the organisation demanded.

Amnesty though also pointed towards incitement by religious groups to their followers to carry out sectarian violence, and called for such incitement to be stopped.

“In no way can such attacks be excused as an attempt to protect the religious sentiments of other faiths,” said Truscott.