#LiberateBalochistan vs #Liberate Khalistan: How twitterati reacts in no-man’s land

July 12, 2015

By NewsGram Staff Writer

The conflict of Balochistan has not yet turned up explicitly in International media’s coverage and continues to remain an unattended issue. “Balochistan’s long held demands for increased autonomy have fallen to deaf ears over the past half century.” [1]

While Balochistan continues to remain a comparatively poor area in spite having rich natural resources, the human rights violation cases in the conflicted area by Pakistan army have surfaced. Among many such attempts, #LiberateBalochistan was trending on Twitter.

When NewsGram researched the tweets (and the handles), the results were quite interesting. Many of the handles supporting Balochistan were pro-Modi.

NewsGram brings to you a series of tweets with #LiberateBalochistan.

Dear Balochs After “India With Balochistan”, We are going to trend #LiberateBalochistan tomorrow, Sunday at 10 am (India Time Zone) ~ India

— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) July 11, 2015

It is my religious duty to support my Balochi brothers and sisters. They have protected Mata Hingalaj temple for ages #LiberateBalochistan — संदीप सारस्वत #HDL (@saraswati_nadi) July 12, 2015

An independent Balochistan is a permanent deterrent to religious extremism in the region & it will prove itself if u #LiberateBalochistan — Archen Baloch (@ArchenBaloch) July 12, 2015

Balochistan being rich in natural resources continues to be d most backward of all d provinces in Porkistan. #LiberateBalochistan

— Wilson D’mello (@wdmello) July 12, 2015

Though India has dismissed the allegations about its role in Balochistan, the ongoing trend clearly reflects the twitterati extending its support to the conflicted region. While there were tweets flooding in India with #LiberateBalochistan, some stir was observed among Pakistani twitterati with #LiberateKhalistan.

#LiberateBalochistan trending in India and #LiberateKhalistan trending in Pakistan. Batman v Superman trending in both countries.

— Scotchy Shashtri (@scotchism) July 12, 2015

So all those who wanna liberate #Balochistan, tell me how it feels to #LiberateKhalistan? pic.twitter.com/4gzTx35Msv

— Aabi kosar (@Aabekosar) July 12, 2015

One Retweet = One Salute To our Pak Army as they crushed BLA and RAW from our Soil. #LiberateKhalistan pic.twitter.com/puP1Vjhs9L

— Ramiz Raja (@RamizRaja92) July 12, 2015

Burnol ki zarorat to #India ko hai because #LiberateKhalistan is trending on top in Pakistan … @HDLindiaOrg . 😉

— Arslan Javaid (@Being__Arslan) July 12, 2015

This is how the twitterati of both the countries have reacted to the internal problems. Instead of fighting for their own cause, it is disturbing to observe this approach among the people of the two nations.

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Copyright 2015 NewsGram

Pakistan Reacts Sharply To U.S. Religious Freedom Charges

China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are also included in the U.S. list of countries accused

NewsGram Desk

December 13, 2018

Pakistan is denouncing a U.S. decision to place it on a list of countries Washington says are the worst offenders of religious freedom.

“Pakistan does not need counsel by any individual country how to protect the rights of its minorities… there are serious questions on the credentials and impartiality of the self proclaimed jury involved in this unwarranted exercise,” the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday in a strongly-worded statement.

The reaction comes a day after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced his designation of “countries of particular concern” that allegedly have engaged in or tolerated ”systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”

Freedom Violations

The countries on the blacklist are exposed to punitive sanctions, but Pompeo waived them for Pakistan, citing U.S. national interests.

Pakistan had until now been on a U.S. watch list for governments that have “engaged in or tolerated” severe violations of religious freedom.

While rebuking Tuesday’s U.S. pronouncement as “unilateral and politically motivated,” the Pakistani Foreign Ministry noted Pakistan is “a multi-religious and pluralistic society” of more than 200 million people, mostly Muslims.

“Around four percent of our total population comprises citizens belonging to Christian, Hindu, Buddhists and Sikh faiths. Ensuring equal treatment of minorities and their enjoyment of human rights without any discrimination is the cardinal principle of the Constitution of Pakistan,” it said.

Ahmadis most persecuted community

The statement did not mention the Ahmadi sect, which critics say is the most persecuted minority in Pakistan. The constitution bars the community from “posing as Muslims” and from calling their worship places “mosques.”

U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback while defending downgrading of Pakistan reiterated Tuesday the challenges facing the Ahmadi community.

USA, Pakistan — Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, speaks to reporters at the State Department in Washington. VOA

“The Pakistani government criminalizes the identification of Ahmadis as Muslims, and then also — and this one has really been difficult and troubling for a lot of people — the government often fails to hold accountable perpetrators of killings and violence against members of religious minorities targeted on account of their religious beliefs or affiliations,” said Brownback.

Blasphemy laws

He cited, among other things, Pakistan’s blasphemy laws as a cause for the downgrade of the country’s religious freedom ranking. The laws prescribe the death penalty for those found guilty.

Rights groups have long complained Islamist groups misuse the law to intimidate minorities in the country.

Insulting Islam or its prophet is an extremely sensitive issue in Pakistan where mere allegations have led to mob lynchings. A former provincial governor, a federal minister, judges and lawyers are among those assassinated in Pakistan by extremists merely for calling for reform of the blasphemy laws to prevent their misuse or for hearing cases and defending alleged blasphemers.

Asia Bibi

In a historic judgement this past October, Pakistan’s Supreme Court acquitted a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who had been on death row for eight years after being convicted of insulting the Prophet Mohammad. The women denied the charges from the outset as an outcome of a local feud and the country’s highest court cited lack of evidence in overturning her conviction by a lower court.

Bibi and her family have been in hiding since her release. Her lawyer fled Pakistan shortly after the landmark court ruling announced on October 31, saying his life was in danger.

Bibi is awaiting a rehearing of her case by the Supreme Court and is residing in a safe place under government protection, say Pakistani officials.

Pakistan also arrested hundreds of Islamist activists and their leaders last month for staging days of mass violent protests to denounce the court for freeing Bibi.

Also Read: Muslims in Malaysia Rally In Kuala Lumpur To Keep Status

The government has charged the detainees with treason and terrorism and officials have vowed to put them on trial in special courts.

“It’s our hope that they will, the new leadership in Pakistan, will work to improve the situation. There was some encouraging signs seen recently on how they’ve handled some of the recent protesting against the blasphemy laws, and we continue to watch very carefully what’s happening to Asia Bibi,” said Brownback.

China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are also included in the U.S. list of countries accused of committing severe violations of religious freedom. (VOA)