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Archives for November 2014

Praniti Shinde must apologise for her ban MIM statement, says Asaduddin Owaisi

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asaduddin-owaisi

Mumbai: All India Majlis-e-Itteh-adul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi has strongly condemned the remarks made by Praniti Shinde, the Congress MLA from Solapur Central, over banning his party. He threatened to file a defamation case against the daughter of former Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, if she did not apologise for dubbing the MIM a “treasonous political party.”

Mr. Owaisi said in Hyderabad that the MIM’s success in the recent Maharashtra Assembly election had led to her outburst.

“Why is she [Praniti Shinde] calling for a ban on us now? Nobody spoke of a ban when we supported the Congress from 2004 to 2012. It was we who bailed out the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh in 2011 when the main opposition party, the Telugu Desam Party, tabled a no-confidence motion,” said Mr. Owaisi adding that Ms. Shinde’s controversial statement smacked of Congress hypocrisy.

On Wednesday, Ms Praniti had demanded a ban on the MIM saying that the party was working against the country’s interest.

“The MIM is inimical to the country’s interests. They have never tried to project their ideas on a democratic platform. I am firmly for the proscription of this party,” she said, speaking in Solapur district.

Ms. Shinde, the MLA for Solapur City Central, further said that the speeches of MIM leaders ought to be carefully studied and police action initiated against them.

“The MIM has fundamentally been against India rather than any section of the population and harboured plans for subversion,” she remarked.

“Our decision to contest the Maharashtra election and our success in Solapur has thoroughly shaken Ms. Shinde. Solapur is not the private property of the Shindes. Any party can contest elections in India anywhere,” Mr. Owaisi said.

NHRC notice to defence ministry over Army killing of two teenage boys in Kashmir

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Hundreds join the funeral prayers of two youths killed in Army firing in Chattergam area of central Kashmir’s Budgam district late Monday evening. Photo: Faisal Khan

Hundreds join the funeral prayers of two youths killed in Army firing in Chattergam area of central Kashmir’s Budgam district late Monday evening. Photo: Faisal Khan

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission Wednesday issued notice to the defence ministry and the Jammu and Kashmir police over the killing of two youths in firing by the Army, said a statement.

Taking suo motu cognisance of the incident, the commission issued notice to the secretary, ministry of defence, and the superintendent of police of Budgam district, calling for a response within two weeks.

Two teenage boys – Faisal Yousuf and Mehrajuddin Dar – were killed when army men opened fire on their Maruti car on Nov 3. The slain youth hail from Nowgam area and were friends. Although an army statement said, “The youths were travelling in a car and as claimed by the Army, they did not pay heed to signals to stop at the barriers set up by the security forces,” a government inquiry into the killings has contradicted the claims made by them that the car in which the youths were travelling tried to “sped away” when asked to stop in Chattergam.

As per the inquiry report, five persons were travelling in the car and they were all residents of Nowgam. An eyewitness account recorded by the committee states that the Maruti 800 car was stopped by the Army naka party and it “skidded off the road and hit a pole on the road side”.

“In the meantime one of the detachment of the naka party fired upon the vehicle, resulting into death of Burhan alias Faisal and Mehraj-ud-Din,” the report says.

Two more youths were injured in the firing incident who have been identified as Shakir and Zahid.

Ishfaq Ahmad, quoting his brother, Zahid, told KNS news agency that their car skidded as a speeding load carrier was about to run over them.

“The driver tried to save us and in the process our car ran into an electric pole. All of a sudden, Army started firing,” he said.

The fifth, Basim, emerged unscathed in the attack and ran away from the spot.

Chief minister Omar Abdullah Monday said the victims have “no connection” with the insurgency in the region and his party has demanded revocation of AFSPA, a draconian legislation which provides immunity to government forces from prosecution in civil courts.

Janata Parivar meets to form an anti-BJP front

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Janata Parivar leaders (from left) Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, JD (S) leader Deve Gowda, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, RJD leader Lalu Prasad and former Bihar CM Nitish Kumar during a meeting in New Delhi on Thursday. Photo: V. Sudershan, The Hindu

Janata Parivar leaders (from left) Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, JD (S) leader Deve Gowda, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, RJD leader Lalu Prasad and former Bihar CM Nitish Kumar during a meeting in New Delhi on Thursday. Photo: V. Sudershan, The Hindu

New Delhi: The merger of parties belonging to the erstwhile Janata Parivar is likely to occur following a meeting between them at the residence of SP chief Mulayam Singh’s residence here on Thursday.

With an aim of forming an effective counterweight to the Narendra Modi-led BJP, leaders of the Janata Parivar such as Sharad Yadav, Lalu Prasad Yadav, H. D. Deve Gowda and Nitish Kumar met at a luncheon.

JD(U) boss Nitish Kumar told reporters that the splinter groups of the 1970s have now decided on unity. “This meeting decided on our unity. In future, we can move from unity to merger into one party,” he told reporters.

The parties have decided on a common stance and agenda to take on the government in Parliament, identifying BJP’s alleged U-turn on black money, employment for youths and farm prices as matters of concern.

While the meeting did not take up the issue of allying with the Congress, Kumar said there was discussion about approaching regional parties such as Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee.

Besides the key leaders, Dushyant Chautala (INLD), Ramgopal Yadav, Shiv Gopal Yadav(SP), KC Tyagi (JDU), Kamal Morarka (SJP) and Preemchand Gupta(RJD ) were also present at Thursday’s meeting.

The Left, meanwhile, has welcomed the decision by the social parties to unite. “They witnessed more divisions…we will work on key issues,” CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said.

Miscreants attack Masjid at SEZ colony in Mangaluru

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Badriya Juma Masjid

Mangaluru: In an apparent attempt to disturb communally harmony, unidentified miscreants have attacked a Masjid on the outskirts of the city.

Badriya Jumma Masjid located at Special Economic Zone Colony at Kodikere near Baikampady Industrial Area, came under attack for the second time in one year.

Two windows of the Masjid were damaged following stone-throwing in the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.

A woman reportedly saw two motorcycle-borne men riding away after allegedly throwing two stones at the west side of the Masjid.

The two men could not be identified because they were wearing helmets.

The police said that this Masjid was at an isolated place, which was about 4 km away from the Baikampady Industrial Area. Efforts are on to trace the culprits, they said.

B. S. Husain, the president of the management committee of the Masjid, has filed a complaint at Panambur police station.

In the earlier incident in June 2013, glass-panes on windows had similarly been damaged. Mr. Husain pointed out that not taking action against culprits, who had attacked the same Masjid last year, has lead them to commit the second attack.

The police are investigating the case.

The Berlin Wall, 25 years after the fall

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This weekend, Germany will observe the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) began erecting the barrier in 1961, building on existing checkpoints, and fortified it over nearly 30 years.

In Focus has a photo retrospective of the Berlin Wall, 25 years after it fell. This is one of the most iconic photos, depicting East German border guard Conrad Schumann leaping over the Wall during the early days of construction, when it was only barbed wire.

Conrad Schumann

After the fall of the Wall he said, “Only since 9 November 1989 [the date of the fall] have I felt truly free.” (via InFocus)

The European Union uses death to deter immigrants

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European Union immigrants

by Martin Kreickenbaum, WSWS

On November 1, the Italian government officially ended the naval operation Mare Nostrum, which has retrieved more than 100,000 refugees from the Mediterranean Sea in the course of the past year. The termination is a deliberate decision of the European Union to permit thousands of refugees to die at sea in order to deter others from trying to set foot on European shores.

The Italian government commenced Operation Mare Nostrum on October 18, 2013 after nearly 500 refugees drowned in one week off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa. The operation was aimed at preventing similar catastrophes by an improved system of maritime surveillance.

In practice, sea rescue was always of secondary importance to Mare Nostrum. Deployment of the Italian Navy was intended as an act of deterrence, to detect refugee boats off the coast of Libya and Tunisia at an early stage and escort them back to Africa.

Nevertheless, when those picked up by merchant vessels off the coast of Italy are included, a total of approximately 150,000 refugees were rescued under the Mare Nostrum programme. Thousands more lost their lives attempting the dangerous passage across the sea. In just the first ten months of this year, more than 3,000 refugees drowned in the Mediterranean. Since 2000, the total stands at about 25,000.

Although the other European governments and the European Union claimed they wished to prevent any repeat of Lampedusa, they refused to provide a single euro for rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea. EU Commissioner Cecilia Malmström castigated Mare Nostrum, “because the probability that refugees will be rescued has increased” and they would therefore be induced to attempt the crossing in even smaller and more unseaworthy boats.

Baroness Joyce Anelay, minister of state in the British foreign ministry, went so far as to claim that the rescue measures: “create an unintended ‘pull factor’ thereby leading to more tragic and unnecessary deaths.”

When the Italian government then declared it was no longer able to finance the monthly €9 million for military vessels engaged in the operation, its European partners refused to share the costs. The operation was terminated.

By comparison, in just the first 43 days of the 2003 Iraq war the US expended ammunition worth $2.7 billion. This sum would be sufficient to finance Mare Nostrum for 20 years. The US and its European allies spent similar sums in the succession of wars in Afghanistan, Libya, Gaza (in military aid to Israel) and now Syria— the regions where most of the refugees crossing the Mediterranean come from.

Since 2007, the European Union has provided €4 billion for a fund bearing the name “Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows.” Most of this money, however, has been allocated to the military enhancement of border protection, i.e., construction of fences and border guard posts, deployment of infrared and thermal imaging cameras, and drone and satellite-based surveillance of external borders.

Mare Nostrum will be succeeded by Operation Triton under the overall control of the European border agency Frontex. However, Triton’s mandate is not the rescuing of refugees, but the securing of borders against “illegal” immigration and the entry of refugees. “Frontex is responsible for the surveillance of borders and has not been tasked to rescue refugees,” said the agency’s director Gil Arias Fernandez in a recent interview with the Tagesspiegel daily, adding: “Unlike crews of the Mare Nostrum ships, we will not deliberately go out to search for refugee boats.”

Frontex’s draft paper on Operation Triton, which differs from Mare Nostrum in only covering the Mediterranean within 30 nautical miles of the Italian coast, makes no secret of the fact “that the withdrawal of naval forces from the sea area near the Libyan coast … will probably lead to a higher number of deaths.”

The paper actually asserts that this result is preferable, since “significantly fewer migrants will attempt to cross the Mediterranean in bad weather and prices for the crossings will rise.” The number of refugees would thus decline to “the level of previous years.”

Francois Crepeau, UN special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, fiercely condemned the EU’s approach to refugee policy, declaring: “It is appalling to claim that an increase in the number of fatalities will have the effect of deterring future migrants and asylum seekers. It is as though one were to say: Let them die, because that is a good deterrent for others.”

The deliberate decision to stop the rescue measures in the Mediterranean and allow refugees to drown as a deterrent, shows the real face of the European Union. It does not embody the “unity of Europe,” but rather the dictatorship of the most ruthless capitalist interests over Europe.

The EU is employing the same ruthlessness against the continent’s working population and its international rivals as it does against refugees at its borders. Following the financial crisis of 2008 the EU has dictated one austerity package after another in order to recoup the trillions handed over to bailout the banks, all at the expense of working people again. In Ukraine it has provoked a confrontation with Russia and it is preparing a new war in the Middle East that will have even more disastrous consequences than the current military interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.

The working class can only effectively oppose the EU and European governments by joining forces internationally and fighting for a socialist Europe, for the United Socialist States of Europe. The unconditional defense of refugees is a precondition for the defense of the democratic and social rights of all working people.

Hassan Nasrallah: Conflict in Middle East political, not sectarian

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The head of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah speaks in a rare public appearance addressing thousands of his supporters on November 3, 2014 the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs. (Photo: AFP)

The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah speaks in a rare public appearance addressing thousands of his supporters on November 3, 2014 the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs. (Photo: AFP)

by Al-Akhbar

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Monday that the current turmoil in the Middle East region was a “political,” not “sectarian” conflict.

Addressing thousands of supporters in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital on the religious festival of Ashura in a rare public appearance, Nasrallah repeated that his movement was waging war against radical Islamists and Israel, not against Sunnis.

“Portraying the current conflict as one between Shias and Sunnis is a major mistake,” Nasrallah said in his second appearance among his supporters in a few months.

“I address all Shias in the region: You need to understand that Sunnis are not our enemies. We are not at war with Sunnis.”

“I address Sunnis in the region: Shias are not at war with you. We are both, together, at war with extremist groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS),” he added.

Nasrallah said that what happens in the Middle East would decide its future for years to come.

“Our battle is against radicals who want to crush everybody else and against Israel,” Nasrallah said.

“This is not a battle against Sunnis,” he added, going on to call on Sunni Muslims to practice caution in regard to the current developments.

Hezbollah supports Michel Aoun for Lebanon’s presidency

Bringing up the current political stagnation in Lebanon, the Hezbollah chief said his movement would back its main Christian ally, Michel Aoun, in the country’s long-delayed presidential vote.

Lebanese parliament is tasked by the constitution to select a president, a decision that has already been put off 14 times as the war in Syria continues to divide rival political blocs.

Nasrallah blamed the political paralysis on external factors.

“Lebanese political factions are restrained by regional vetoes and these decisions are responsible for Lebanon’s presidential vacuum,” he said on Monday.

He reiterated his call for national dialogue to solve the crisis, adding that Hezbollah was willing to sit down with “any political group.”

While discussing Lebanese internal matters, Nasrallah also praised Prime Minister Tammam Salam and the Future Movement political party for their roles in defusing clashes in the northern city of Tripoli.

Nasrallah calls for Ashura rallies despite threats

Nasrallah called for a large turnout on Tuesday, which sees the peak of Ashura, a commemoration that marks the killing of Imam Hussein, one of the most revered figures of Shia Islam.

Ashura events have increasingly become targets of deadly bombings and attacks over the years.

“Tomorrow we will prove that we are above any threat, any danger, any challenge,” Nasrallah said.

Nasrallah addressed the crowds again by video link on Tuesday morning, where he condemned recent attacks on Ashura commemorations in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Nigeria.

He also condemned recent Israeli aggressions in Jerusalem and the storming of the al-Aqsa compound by Zionist extremists.

He reiterated comments on ISIS and Islamist extremist.

“The takfiri project will be defeated sooner or later,” he said. “The fall of ISIS is inevitable.”

“These takfiris will be defeated in all areas and countries, and we will feel honored that we played a role in their defeat,” he added.

(Anadolu, AFP, Al-Akhbar)

Changes to environment, land acquisition laws jeopardize human rights: Amnesty International India

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Photo: Aruna Chandrasekhar

Photo: Aruna Chandrasekhar

New Delhi/Bengaluru: Recent changes made and proposed to India’s environment and land acquisition policies strike at the right of communities to be consulted on decisions affecting them, Amnesty International India said today.

India’s Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has in recent months weakened requirements for public consultation with communities affected by mining and other infrastructure projects, and sought to dilute provisions mandating the free, prior and informed consent of Adivasi (indigenous) communities.

The Ministry of Rural Development has suggested changes to land acquisition laws that seek to dilute consent requirements and discard social impact assessments.  Public consultations over changes to key environmental laws have been largely superficial.

“Many corporate-led infrastructure projects could severely affect the rights of communities to clean air, water, health, livelihood and a healthy environment. The people most affected by these projects must have a say in whether and how they go forward,” said Aruna Chandrasekhar, Business and Human Rights Researcher at Amnesty International India. “Attempts to shut these communities out of the decision-making process are short-sighted and counter-productive.”

“Some of the amended laws also fall short of international standards on consultation and consent, and could further marginalise vulnerable communities who seldom have a voice in decisions taken around their lands and resources.”

“Instead of carrying forward the previous government’s efforts to dismantle safeguards on consultation, authorities must strengthen and enforce existing laws.”

Public consultations with affected communities

On 30 May 2014, the MoEFCC issued an executive memorandum stating that existing coal mines with a production capacity of up to 16 mtpa (million tonnes per annum) would not need to conduct public hearings with project-affected communities before expanding their capacity by up to 50 per cent. Public hearings are mandated as part of the environmental clearance process for certain projects under the Environment (Protection) Act. They are the only existing formal means of consultation under Indian law for both indigenous and non-indigenous project-affected communities.

On 28 July, the Ministry extended the exemption from conducting public hearings to mines with a capacity above 16 mtpa seeking to expand their capacity by up to 5 mtpa. On 2 September, the Ministry issued another memorandum, exempting mines with a production capacity of over 20 mtpa seeking to expand capacity by up to 6 mtpa from conducting public hearings.

On 25 June, the Ministry amended its Environment Impact Assessment notification of 2006, which details the process by which environmental clearances are granted. The amendment made certain categories of projects, including irrigation projects which required less than 2000 hectares of land, exempt from requiring environmental clearances, and therefore exempt from needing to consult affected communities.

“The right to consultation must not be seen as a roadblock to projects, but as an integral part of the development process,” said Aruna Chandrasekhar. “The Ministry must require public hearings and environmental impact assessments to be conducted for all projects that could impact people’s lives, livelihoods or environment.”

Indigenous communities’ rights

Under India’s Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act – also referred to as the Forest Rights Act – any use of forest land for non-forest purposes requires the prior consent of the concerned gram sabhas (village assemblies), and documentary evidence that all individual and community claims over forest and community lands under the Act have been settled.

In recent months, authorities have sought to dilute these requirements. On 4 July 2014, the MoEFCC wrote to all state governments stating that documentary evidence of settlement of claims would no longer be required for proposals for prospecting in forest land.

On 28 October, the Ministry wrote to state governments stating that in cases where there were no recent census records of the presence of tribal communities and plantations had been categorized as ‘forests’ after 13 December 1930, gram sabha consent and documentary evidence of settlement of claims would not be required for forest land to be used for non-forest purposes.

The letter suggested that there could technically be no ‘Other Traditional Forest Dwellers’ – another category of indigenous communities – living in these forests. Under the Forest Rights Act, these communities need to have lived in and depended on forest lands for at least three generations prior to 13 December 2005, dating back to December 1930.

However the Act makes no distinction between plantations and other forests, and its definition of ‘forest land’ does not refer to a date of classification. The Ministry’s narrow interpretation of ‘forest land’ would therefore affect the rights of Other Traditional Forest Dwellers living in these forests to consultation and free, prior and informed consent.

Media reports also suggest that the government is planning to do away with the consent requirement for projects located outside ‘scheduled areas’ – certain Adivasi regions identified under the Constitution as deserving special protection.

“India must uphold its obligations under international and Indian law to protect the rights of indigenous communities over their lands and territories, and ensure that their free, prior and informed consent is sought on matters affecting them,” said Aruna Chandrasekhar.

Land acquisition

In July 2014, the Ministry of Rural Development wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office proposing a number of amendments to the flawed but progressive Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, which came into force on 1 January.

The changes proposed included diluting or doing away with provisions requiring the consent of 70 per cent of families where land was sought to be acquired for public-private partnership (PPP) projects and 80 per cent for private projects. The Ministry also recommended that social impact assessments mandated by the Act be restricted to only large projects or PPP projects as they ‘might delay the land acquisition process’.

Other changes proposed include reexamining the Act’s definition of ‘affected families’ eligible for resettlement and rehabilitation to exclude those who don’t own land but whose livelihood is affected by land acquisition.

The Act excludes several important industries – including coal mining by the state – from its ambit, and states that the central government shall make it applicable to these industries within one year of its commencement. However, the government has not taken any known measures in this regard.

“Authorities must not rush to amend a law which has barely been implemented on the ground. Instead, they must ensure that its provisions are strengthened and extended to all people affected by any project, and explicitly prohibit forced evictions in all circumstances,” said Aruna Chandrasekhar.

Consultations on legal reform

On 29 August 2014, the MoEFCC set up a committee to review key environmental laws, including India’s Air Act and Water Act, and “recommend specific amendments…to bring them in line with current requirements to meet objectives” within three months. However the committee’s mandate, while broad, remains vague, and its consultations have provided limited opportunities for public participation. The committee has conducted consultations in only urban centres so far, which have been largely inaccessible to many project-affected communities across the country.

A consultation held in Bangalore in September, which was attended by Amnesty International India, ended before schedule, and members of the public were not given sufficient time to provide feedback. The MoEFCC has invited suggestions and comments from members of the public. However these suggestions can only be made online, and at one point were restricted to under 1000 characters.

“A review of important environmental laws that will have long-lasting implications on millions of people must not be done in haste or in a perfunctory manner,” said Aruna Chandrasekhar. “It must involve consultations with a wide-range of stakeholders, especially from affected communities, in a manner that is transparent, meaningful and inclusive.”

Former JD(S) MLC Abdul Azeem joins BJP, says Congress widened Hindu-Muslim gap, praises Modi

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Former JD(S) MLC Abdul Azeem (extreme left) being welcomed into the BJP by leaders Prahlad Joshi, B S Yeddyurappa, Jagadish Shettar, V Somanna and others in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Photo: Nagaraja Gadekal, New Indian Express

Former JD(S) MLC Abdul Azeem (extreme left) being welcomed into the BJP by leaders Prahlad Joshi, B S Yeddyurappa, Jagadish Shettar, V Somanna and others in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Photo: Nagaraja Gadekal, New Indian Express

Bengaluru: Former JD(S) Member of Legislative Council Abdul Azeem and Yoga Ramesh, who had contested unsuccessfully from Arkalgund Assembly constituency as an independent candidate, joined BJP along with their supporters in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

BJP senior leaders Pralhad Joshi, B S Yeddyurappa and Jagadish Shettar were among those present during the induction programme.

There was commotion inside the party office for nearly an hour as the supporters of Azeem and Ramesh, who had gathered in large numbers, refused to vacate the hall meant for briefing the media.

Azeem said that he had joined the BJP impressed by the policies and programmes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He blamed Congress for wedging a divide between Hindus and Muslims for political gains.

“I will bring at least 50 per cent Muslims into the party by removing the misconception Congress has spread among the community about the BJP,” he said.

BJP State President Pralhad Joshi said with Azeem joining the party it had shattered the myth that minorities were against the party.

Former ministers Suresh Kumar and V Somanna will also submit an internal report compiled by them on the irregularities in Arkavathi Layout denotification to Joshi on Thursday.

PILER condemns killing of brick kiln workers in Kot Radha Kishan in Pakistan

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brick kiln workers Kot Radha Kishan

Karachi: Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research has vehemently condemned the brutal killing and then burning of bodies of Shahzad and Shama, the worker couple in Kot Radha Kishan Punjab.

In a statement here Wednesday, the PILER Chief Executive Karamat Ali demanded the provincial government of Punjab to arrest the owner and other responsible staff and try them in Anti-Terrorism court.

In a recent addition to the rapidly rising list of attacks on religious minorities, the Christian couple was reported to be beaten and their bodies were put in a burning brick kiln in Kot Radha Kishan area of Punjab on November 4. The couple was alleged of desecrating the Holy Quran however some news reports contradicted the allegation by claiming that there was some dispute between the couple and the kiln owner.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also reported rise in attacks against minorities groups during the last year and mentioned 2013 as one of the darkest years for the Christian community in Pakistan. Attacks on churches, Christian populations and forced conversions are some of the highlights of the year.

The case of Kot Radha kishan appears to be another outcome of blasphemy law, which has already resulted in many innocent deaths in the past. Any call for the review of this law has always been replied with threats, attacks and at most, death. None of the governments had a courage to revisit this law. Salman Taseer, former Governor of Punjab (2008-2011), had labeled the blasphemy law as ‘black law’ and soon after, he was killed by his own gunmen. The killer is now behind tge bars but was reported to have been inciting the fellow prisoners and even those on duty to kill the blasphemy convicts in the jail. Despite a number of reports which appeared in media recently, no action was taken by the jail authorities or the government of Punjab.

Supreme Court of Pakistan, in its recent landmark verdict in a suo motu case has directed government to form a National Council for minorities’ rights with the mandate to tailor policy recommendations for safeguarding and protecting minorities’ rights. Also following the kidnappings of Hindu community members in Sindh, National Assembly had agreed to form a fact-finding committee on attacks against minorities. Any progress on both the mentioned reports never appeared anywhere.

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