Rights activist says no value of Sindhi life in Pakistan, pleads for justice at UN

Sindhi-American activist Fatima Gul on Tuesday highlighted the plight of Sindhi people in Pakistan and said there is no value of minority communities in the country as anyone can violate their rights, especially women.

"Anyone can abduct us, rape us, and violate our rights. Anyone can force us into marriages, into a lifetime of sexual slavery, and even brutally kill us," Gul said during the 49th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

During the session, Gul questioned who is accountable for the loss of thousands of Sindhi lives?

Gul highlighted the case of Sindhi people facing human rights violations and said, "Notan Lal, a Sindhi teacher, was falsely accused by his student for blasphemy. Yet, he was sentenced for life for a crime neither committed nor proved."

"On September 15, 2019, Lal, the owner and principal of a private school in Ghotki, was detained after a student accused him of insulting the Prophet Muhammad during an Urdu lesson. Lal was charged with insulting the Prophet Muhammad," according to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) statement.

Gul further said that "innocent people are being lynched and burnt alive. Victims of forced conversions are not only minors but are also girls with disabilities like Simran Kumari."

"Women are stoned, sexually abused, and threatened in public during Women's March. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said it is our fault; however, the world remains silent," Gul pointed out.

Sindhi-American activist further brings out the attention to Namrita Kumari case, a Sindhi girl, who was found dead in her dorm.

"The initial examination showed signs of murder, later the medical report proved she was sexually abused before being murdered. Despite all the evidence and uproar by the Sindhi community, Pakistani authorities undermined this case. Due to this neglect, the precious life of Nosheen Kazmi was also lost under the same circumstances by the same suspect," she said.

Gul pleaded for justice for the Sindhi people.

Moreover, in a recent study on the blasphemy issue in Pakistan, a local Think Tank, Centre for Research and Security Studies had revealed that from 1947 to 2021, as many as 89 people were extra-judicially killed over blasphemy accusations in the country.

It further stated that a total of 1,287 citizens were accused of committing blasphemy from 2011-21, the period in which Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) remained most active and expanded its support base across the country, reported European Times.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's government's failure to control incidents of blasphemy and an apparent soft- corner for the extremist Islamist groups, for political purposes, will have far-wider consequences for Pakistan in the coming months.

In addition, the Taliban's victory in Afghanistan has emboldened the hard-line Islamist forces in Pakistan. All these factors are indicating that there will be more incidents of blasphemy killings.

( With inputs from ANI )