- Making treatment of minorities an issue
Over 50 members of European Parliament have written a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan, in which they accuse Pakistan of persecuting minorities, and warning that Pakistan’s GSP-Plus status, which allows it concessions on trade to the European Union, depends on the European Parliament. A cynical approach would be to ignore the letter as having been written by lame-ducks, as the European Union elects a new Parliament at the end of the month. However, not only will some of the signatories be re-elected, but they are likely to able to make other members ready to support this line. It is interesting that the letter uses the Quaid-e-Azam as an exemplar of the kind of tolerance needed. Things have come to a pretty pass where Pakistan needs lessons from foreigners about what the Quaid thought.
It may well be that the Pakistani Diaspora in Europe exerted its pressure for the writing of this latter. It must not be forgotten that the Diaspora includes a disproportionate number of minorities. While few have fled persecution, discrimination has played a role for all in the decision to migrate. Pakistan’s GSP-Plus status had caused much heartburn in Indian ruling circles, and these now want Pakistan to be blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force at its meeting next month. India already chairs the FATF’s Asia- Pacific Group, which inspected Pakistan recently. This may be seen along with the UN Security Council committee’s decision to put Jaish-e-Mohammed founder Maulana Masood Azhar on its list of terrorists.
It seems as if Pakistan is being brought under pressure by India so that it can distract attention from the Kashmir liberation struggle, by forcing Pakistani diplomatic efforts to focus on firefighting rather than on aggressively providing the diplomatic support necessary to make the world aware of Indian atrocities in the Valley. With all of this happening, Pakistan does not need the new front apparently opened up by the parliamentarians’ letter. Treating minorities properly, not only stops a new issue being raised by Pakistan’s enemies at a time when even allies are afraid to show support, but it also good policy. While the European Union will see it as a minorities problem, Pakistan has to see it as a national one, else all will suffer, majority and minorities alike.
