Geneva, Mar. 19 (ANI) Infuriated expatriates, including Pakistanis, Christians and Baloch, staged a protest demonstration outside the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, demanding an end to human rights violations in their country.
Led by the chairman of the United Kashmir People's National Party (UKPNP), Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, the demonstrators shouted slogans against the repeated breach of international laws in Pakistan.
The protestors gathered around the 'Broken Chair' opposite the Palace of Nations to demand the setting up of an investigation team by the Human Rights Council to intervene immediately.
"The world community must intervene into the matter for the sake of protection of our people in Jammu and Kashmir. This must be done in order to change the attitude of Pakistan and its agencies and stop the genocide of Kashmiris. We request United Nations Human Rights Council to send a fact finding mission for further investigation. Some of our people have been missing since three years for refusing to carry out militant activities like transporting weapons to other parts of Kashmir, providing shelter to militants or carry out the commands of the agencies," said Kashmiri.
A pastor hailing from Karachi called on the U.N to put an end to incessant sectarian violence in Pakistan.
"Our community is enduring a lot of suffering due to some militant organisations, especially the blasphemy law is being misused a lot. We want some amendment in the law for the safety of the Christian community that has been witnessing carnages in which people are being burnt alive. Scores of houses have been blazed recently in Lahore," said Pastor Latif Jacob.
He was apparently referring to the recent torching of Lahore's Joseph Colony after a Muslim reportedly accused a Christian co-worker of blasphemy. In Islam, allegations of blasphemy are treated seriously.
Police claimed to have taken the Christian man into their custody. However, thousands of enraged Muslims attacked the area, burning houses and belongings.
Hundreds of Christians fled their homes to escape the violence.
Police said they had arrested over 150 Muslims on suspicion of torching 150 homes and two churches. They will be tried in anti-militancy courts.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf have condemned the incident and asked the government in Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital, to provide immediate relief to the affected people.
Government officials say they have started the reconstruction of the gutted colony on a war footing.
The Joseph Colony torching incident has sparked off protests across the country, both by Christians and by human rights organisations.
In Karachi, scores of Christians marched through the streets chanting, "Stop the killing of minorities."
Rights campaigners say Pakistan's controversial anti-blasphemy law is indiscriminately used against religious minorities such as Christians, Ahmadis and Shi'ite Muslims.
Blasphemy accusations are on the rise, according to a report released by Islamabad-based think tank, Center for Security Studies. At least 52 people accused of blasphemy have been killed since 1990.
Recent cases have included a teacher who made a mistake setting homework, a man who threw away a business card belonging to a man named Mohammed and a Pakistani Christian girl, Rimsha Masih, who was accused of burning pages of the Koran last year.
Eventually, Masih was cleared by a court after it emerged that she may have been framed by a cleric trying to evict Christians from his area. She and her family are now in hiding.
In military-dominated Pakistan, attacks on religious minorities such as the Shia-Muslim Hazara community and Christians are common, and show no signs of abating.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Pakistani expats have met U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) members to get their attention on the matter.
A representative of Balochistan at the UNHRC, Mehran Marri, informed members about the plight of the Baloch.
"Right now, we are probably at the most critical juncture of our struggle because Pakistan is blatantly picking up tens of thousands of people and disappearing them. They are killing our intellectuals, lawyers, students; basically they are trying to destroy the fabric of Baloch society. So our future generations will really suffer from their actions now," said Marri. (ANI)
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