Sindhi activist calls for UN intervention to address racial discrimination and human rights violations in Sindh

Geneva [Switzerland], October 4 : During the ongoing 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Munawar Sufi Laghari, Executive Director of the Sindhi Foundation, highlighted the racial discrimination faced by the Sindhi people.

He urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to appoint a special envoy to investigate the situation in Sindh, stating that this could potentially save millions of Sindhis from the pervasive racial discrimination they face in Pakistan.

Laghari stated, "The history of racial discrimination against native Sindhis dates back to the earliest days of Pakistan. It is a tragedy that such discriminatory actions and attitudesoften bordering on the crude definition of genocidehave consistently been state-sponsored."

He also discussed how Pakistan's first Prime Minister made racially charged comments about the land and people of Sindh, marking the beginning of a long nightmare that the Sindhi community has endured ever since. According to him, the political and military hierarchymost notably led by the armed forces of Pakistanhas never ceased to target Sindhis with their malicious designs.

According to the 2023 census, Sindhis constitute 14 per cent of Pakistan's national population, yet their representation in state organisations, including the army, civil service, and foreign services, remains disproportionately low.

In the federal judiciary, Sindhis account for less than 1 per cent of the members, and there are currently no Sindhi judges on the Supreme Court. Similarly, in the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, Sindhis represent less than 1 per cent.

Despite Sindh being one of Pakistan's richest provinces due to its agricultural output, many Sindhis still live in poverty. Laghari also emphasized that the facts and figures presented in his speech are insufficient to fully convey the dire situation of the Sindhi people.

Regardless of having a rich cultural heritage, they often face pressures that threaten its preservation, efforts to promote the Sindhi language in education are met with many hurdles as Urdu and English dominate in official and public spheres of Pakistan. Cultural festivals and celebrations may also face restrictions or lack funding, limiting the community's ability to celebrate and pass on their traditions.

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