Violence Against Shias in Parachinar - Exclusive Pictures
Written by Hani Kazmi
Thursday, 08 May 2008
The city of Parachinar in FATA province of Pakistan has witnessed
continuous rounds of violence as pro-Taliban groups with ties to Al-Qaeda attempt
to take over the city. Dozens of local Shias have been killed and hundreds of
homes and businesses have been torched in the violence that has gripped the
region since last April.
Violence was sparked off in April 2007 as the town reverberated with explosions
of mortar shells and rockets when pro-Taliban militants attacked a mosque in
Parachinar. Tens of Shias were killed after being abducted and tortured by
Taliban militants. Militants shot and killed the victims in
cold-blood and left their bodies in the Aravali region.
Militant tribal groups like the Tehrik-i Taliban mark the landscape in the NWFP and FATA provinces in Pakistan, and the central government's policy towards these groups has unleashed a "violence-accommodation cycle" according to experts.
Local leaders blame the government for drawing a blanket of silence over the
violence in the FATA province, and many residents liken their fate in the
province to the siege of Gaza.
Kurram Agency has been subject to periodic sieges since April, the most recent
of which has lasted for more than two-months in certain regions, and well over
five-months of complete blockade in the city of Parachinar. Residents in
Parachinar face an acute shortage in supplies of food and medicine.
In an interview with AIM, a leading figure from Parachinar stated, "We call the
[whole of] humanity for relief, removal of blockade, peace in the region and
re-opening of the roads". Speaking of the dire humanitarian crisis that has
gripped Parachinar, he added, "our sick persons are passing away without cure
and medicine."
The violence and humanitarian crisis in Parachinar has been met with silence
from media outlets and human rights groups in covering the crisis. "Parachinari
people are crying for relief but their voice returns back, because the 'big
ones' have considered these people as non-human [and] uncivilized", a local
figure exclaimed in clear frustration at the lack of coverage of the horrific
situation in the Kurram Agency.
In a rare piece, Pakistani media outlet, The Post, featured a story on
the clashes in Kurram Agency, and similarly depicted the frustrations of the
local population against the government's silence in the face of widespread
violence and blockades which prevent the passage of the most basic supplies.
The Post underlined that hospitals in the region were facing a "critical
condition" due to the lack of medical supplies.
Protesters who had gathered in a rally organised earlier in April shouted slogans against the "political
administration and were demanding restoration of durable peace in the area" the
piece added.
In exclusive pictures sent to AIM from Parachinar, a glimpse of the horrific
extent of the violence that has gripped Parachinar is revealed.
The residents of Parachinar complain that at a time when the world is supposedly
at war with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, it is of great surprise that the very real
stories of grief and horror from victims who are faced with violence from these
groups on a routine basis goes unheard.
The call from Parachinar is not one to the 'ears of humanity' per se, but one
that returns to question the collective conscience of the 'civilized world', and
the double-standards at play in the so-called 'war on terror'.
Exclusive Pictures: Violence in Parachinar
Note: Viewer Discretion Advised
Source: AIM News
Comments (1)
1. Written by sami on 10-05-2008 09:49
what can be done regarding this situation?
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