Shia Rights Watch contacted the Pakistani ambassador, Sherry Rehman, regarding the increased Shia rights violations in this country. In a recent letter to the Embassy of the Islamic Republican of Pakistan, S.R.W asked the Pakistani government to stop and prevent human rights violations toward Shia population in the country. Shia have been suffering from many human rights violation in the past years in Pakistan. Some of the circumstances include:
· Public massacre in different cities,
· Anti-Shia attacks in Lahore and Karimabad that resulted in death of Nasir Ali alias Kallu, Ahsan Abbas Naqvi, Syed Zia Mehdi and poet Dr Shabihul Hassan Rizvi,
· Car bombs in Parachinar resulting in 80 deaths and 45 wounded,
· Anti-Shia attacks to buses near Gilgit and killing of 25 Shia passengers,
· Killing and stabbing of innocent residence of different areas.
Director of the S.R.W highlighted that increasing sectarian violence has killed and murdered hundreds of Shia and government is yet to take any action.
The organization recommended the Pakistani government to:
- Investigate the targeted killings of Shia immediately,
- Increase security forces in Shia populated areas: protect all Shia, especially women and children, against human rights violations
- Cooperate and consult with human rights organizations to end the violations,
- Condemning the violations in the country’s official media,
- Initiate trainings to increase tolerance among citizens and especially authority forces.
The letter was sent to the embassy a month ago and the organization did not get any response back from the embassy.
The letter can be found under the LETTER section of the Shia Rights Watch web site.