Pakistan’s Human Rights track record is for all to see as the revanchist state is known to commit atrocities against its minorities. While on paper, Pakistan exists as a democracy but on the contrary, if one speaks up against the Pakistan Army, the consequences are often adverse and Pakistan Human Rights activist Gulalai Ismail learned it the hard way as took the baton to highlight incidents of sexual abuse by Pakistani security forces and was forced to leave the country and seek asylum in the USA.
Gulalai Ismail’s crusade against the atrocities committed against Pakistan’s women landed her with treason charges. Gulalai Ismail was hiding in Pakistan for nearly 6 months and later escaped to Sri Lanka with the help of her friends and family. She later escaped to the USA from Sri Lanka and is seeking political asylum in the country. The 32-year-old said: “Pakistan thinks that the US Department of State will force me to leave the US along with my family. But, I will continue my struggle in the US.” Little did Ismail know that her social media posts against the Pakistan Army highlighting the atrocities committed by it would land her in such huge trouble. She relentlessly campaigned for women’s rights, bringing attention to rapes, disappearances and other abuses committed by the Pakistan Army, especially among minorities and communities seeking freedom from the terror-sponsoring state.
Pakistan Army has a history of raping and sexually abusing women right from its ‘rape and pillage’ policy which was seen in erstwhile East Pakistan to the most recent case of Pakistan Army personnel raping two Baloch women, rape and sexual abuse committed by the latter have only been increasing and Gulalai Ismail through her posts on Facebook and Twitter sought to highlight the heinous act committed by the Pakistani soldiers which forced her to turn into a fugitive in Pakistan. She was immediately slapped with charges of treason and had been barred by the Imran Khan-led Pakistan government to leave the country. In November 2018, Pakistan’s security agencies swung into action as they sought to put Ismail behind the bars and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had recommended putting Ismail’s name on the Exit Control List. The High Court following a petition by Gulalai Ismail ordered the removal of her name from the list but allowed the Interior Ministry to confiscate her passport based on the recommendation by ISI.
Gulalai Ismail has now claimed that the thousands of people from minority communities in the country were killed by the Pakistani state in the name of eradicating terrorism. Ismail was quoted: “Innocent Pashtuns were killed in Pakistan in the name of eradicating terrorism. Thousands of people are jailed in internment centres and torture cells of the Pakistani Army.”
Many Pashtun activists have been ruthlessly murdered by the Pakistan Army, which also has often opened fire on peaceful protests, killing dozens of people each time. The Pakistan Army’s heinous crimes against minorities are well documented as most recently the Pakistan military is accused of burning villages in a bid to uproot Baloch from their homes to make room for the settlement of Chinese colonies. Balochistan continues to be neglected as its women and children are routinely abducted, harassed, and tortured by the Pakistani security forces with over 20,000 cases of mysterious disappearances in the last five years. Over 57% of people in Balochistan fall under the poverty line and are not able to afford two square meals for their children which has led to five in ten children being malnourished in Balochistan. The literacy rate is also poor as out of every 100 children, 63 are not in school.
It is extremely tough to be a minority in Pakistan and its a curse if one is a woman belonging to a minority community in Pakistan as they are abducted in broad daylight in Pakistan and forcefully converted to Islam and married off to the highest bidder. Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission claims that more than 1,000 underage Christian and Hindu girls have been forcibly converted last year thanks to the tacit support provided by the Pakistan government to people like Mian Mithu. The Human Rights Watch said, “The blasphemy-related violence against religious minorities, fostered in parts by the government’s persecution and discriminatory laws, is frequent.”
The plight of Ismail further highlight the plight of minorities in Pakistan as from 23% at the time of Partition, Hindus constitute around a meagre 5-6% of the total population today in Pakistan as it continues to practice systematic ethnic cleansing. While Imran Khan continues to whine about India and shed crocodile tears, Pakistan’s skeletons are beginning to expose themselves.
