Pakistan Diplomatic Service Working Against Sindhis!

by Dr. Ayoub Shaikh

An eye-opening article by Dr. Ayoub Shaikh on the discrimination of Sindhis in the Foreign Service of Pakistan. The article also highlight the issue of selling Pakistani passports to Burmese refugees in Saudi Arabia and have them settled in Karachi, Sindh.

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Selling of Passports and Settlement of Foreigners in Karachi

By: Dr. Ayoub Shaikh

Translation by: Khalid Hashmani, McLean, Virginia, USA

Excerpt:

There are reports that more than 250,000 Pakistani passports have been sold to Burmese and nationals of other countries in Saudi Arabia and other countries. The purchasers of these passports have been migrating to Karachi for some time. The article demands that all those employees of Pakistani Embassy, who are involved in the illegal selling of Pakistani passports should be tried and sentenced to life imprisonment if found guilty.

Discrimination Against Sindhis in Pakistan Foreign Service

According to the article out of total 472 foreign service officers, only 44 are from Sindh. This represents less than 10% compared to the the 20% of Pakistani population that lives in Sindh. The article says that more than 85,000 illegal domiciles have been issued in the recent years. The illegally obtained domicile certificates are used by non-Sindhis to get employment against the quota established for Sindhis. IN the Ministry of Foreign affairs, out of seven (7) Additional Secretaries, none is a Sindhi. Out of 17 Director Generals, only two are Sindhis. Out of 34 Directors only two are Sindhis. Out of 74 Assistant Directors and Deputy Directors, only five (5) are Sindhis. It is said that the department has an unwritten rule for some time that no Sindhi will be promoted beyond 20th grade.

As Pakistan government does not publish correct figures, this under- representation of Sindhis cannot be confirmed by me. However, living in Washington DC for the last 12 years, where Pakistan has the largest embassy, I can say that the numbers quoted in the article are even on high side as the representation of Sindhis in the U.S. Embassy is substantially less than even 5%.

I hope overseas Sindhi organizations that are quite active in fighting for the Sindhi rights will start a campaign to secure a fair share of Sindhis in Pakistan’s Foreign services and other federal departments.

29 June 2010

TARGET KILLING OF MINORITIES IN KARACHI

Sectarian killings claim two more lives – By Imran Ayub

KARACHI: Two young men were gunned down in different parts of the city on Monday as Rangers and police remained unable to control the spate of ongoing sectarian killings. …

Read more >>- DAWN

Fear and silence

Why are Ahmadis persecuted so ferociously in Pakistan?

By Mohsin Hamid

…. Because if we can be silenced when it comes to Ahmadis, then we can be silenced when it comes to Shias, we can be silenced when it comes to women, we can be silenced when it comes to dress, we can be silenced when it comes to entertainment, and we can even be silenced when it comes to sitting by ourselves, alone in a room, afraid to think what we think.

That is the point.

Read more >>- DAWN

A Prominent Sindhi rights activist Munawar Laghari met U.S. Vice President Joe Biden

Munawar Laghari

Washington, DC : (29 June 2010) : Representatives of the Sindh and Baloch communities attended on Friday, June 25th a fundraising luncheon for Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) in Milwaukee, WI. Munawar Laghari, the Sindhi rights activist and the executive director of Sindhi monitor was also  present at this luncheon in support of Senator Feingold’s reelection was the Vice President of America, the Honorable Mr. Joseph Biden.