Benazir condemns victimization of scheduled castes
Islamabad: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has condemned the continued harassment of PPP workers belonging to scheduled castes in Tharparkar to punish them for refusing to vote for the King's Party's candidate Arbab Ghulam Rahim in the last elections. Arbab Ghulam Rahim of Sindh Democratic Alliance contested against PPPP's Engineer Gianchand for Sindh assembly seat PS-60, Tharparkar-I. Though gerrymandering and brute force the King's Party candidate was declared successfull against which Engineer Gianchand has already filed an election petition. Following election Arbab Ghulam Rahim of the King's Party let loose a reign of vendetta against the members of the scheduled castes to avenge their refusal to support him against Engineer Gianchand in the elections. Besides Gianchand, the candidate of King's Party has implicated over 600 PPP from all over Tharparkar distict in false cases.
The weak Meghwar tribe of the scheduled castes has drawn the special ire of King's Party candidate. The poor tribesmen are being ejected from their homes and their livestock is not being allowed to graze even on the government lands.
In a statement today the former Prime Minister asked the Election Commission and the regime to look into the reign of terror let loose by Arbab Ghulam Rahim and his henchmen against the scheduled castes community. "Regime's continued silence will only reinforce the message that minorities and scheduled castes have never been treated as equal citizens of the country with equal rights and privileges," she said.
Mohtrama Bhutto asked the regime to look into the complaints that a large number of government employees, mostly working in the education and police departments and belonging to scheduled castes have been transferred to the farflung areas of the desert to punish them for not abetting in the rigging plan of Arbab Ghulam Rahim, the candidate of King's Party.
"I am disturbed that Tharparkar has reportedly been converted into No-Go Area by the henchmen of King's Party and ask the regime to rein in the hands of oppressors".
"The Pakistan Peoples Party demands a high-level Judicial Commission to probe into the harassment and economic murder and of the poor members of the scheduled castes in Tharparkar for supporting the PPPP candidate in the elections". The former Prime Minister also warned that if the regime continued to show criminal apathy towards the plight of of the scheduled castes in Tharparkar the Party would raise the issue at appropriate international forums.