Well-known woes
Thar is rich in natural resources — a fact well-known. The arid land has coal in abundance which is now being used to generate cheap electricity to meet the growing energy needs of the country. The landscape of the desert region is dotted with multi-coloured hills of granite — a hard stone being used in construction industry across the length and breadth of the country. Salt lakes develop naturally in Thar from the accumulating rainwater; and according to local officials, the dessert district has more than one hundred salt mines from where this life essential is collected and refined for use. No wonder why the region is billed the Energy Capital of Pakistan, with experts believing that adequate development of these resources can provide long-term energy security to the country.
But this largest district of Sindh in terms of land is as neglected as it is resource-rich. The sorry plight of the area is manifested in the deaths that not only come from lack of food and water, but also from man-made miseries resulting from poor healthcare facilities and lack of sanitation and waste management. Statistics corroborate the anecdotal evidence. A mammoth 87% of the population in Thar lives under the poverty line; less than half the population has access to drinking water; nearly 500 children die every year due to malnutrition and infections, according to media reports; and high maternal mortality rate in the district is evident from the fact that there are 121 male per 100 females as against the national level of 106 per 100 females.
And for years and years there has been no significant progress on social indictors in the drought-stricken region. Sindh Human Rights Commission chairperson Justice (retd) Majida Rizvi has — after a recent visit to the place — drawn attention towards the age-long miseries of Tharis that are now resulting in “increasing number of suicides by men, women, young girls, children and even couples”. When will the authorities wake up to the woes well-known!
US resolution on Kashmir
A resolution has been tabled in the US House of Representatives urging India to end communication curbs and its mass detention policy in Kashmir. The resolution also calls for the preservation of religious freedom for all residents of India-Occupied Kashmir (IOK). The bipartisan resolution to restore human rights in IOK was moved on Friday by Democrat Congre¬sswoman Pramila Jayapal and Republican Congressman Steve Watkins.
Jayapal, who in 2016, became the first Indian-American woman elected to Congress, knows a thing or two about human rights. After immigrating to the US as a teenager, she spent much of her life as a rights activist. Just last year, she was arrested while participating in a protest against the Trump immigration’s policies. She is also no friend of Pakistan, having criticised alleged rights violations here. But that has not stopped Indian trolls and armchair experts from attacking her. While some attacks are frivolous and benign, racist comments were also directed at her, and some even questioned the veracity of her accusations, citing the fact that the Indian media says all is well in Kashmir. You know, the same Indian media that still claims India successfully attacked Balakot when every single foreign news outlet and a few smaller Indian ones agree that India only killed a few trees. Even Congressman Watkins, an Afghan war veteran, is not considered pro-Pakistan. But like his colleague, he is troubled by the events in IOK.
The resolution actually does make explicit mention of the threat of “cross-border terrorism”, but rejects India’s arbitrary detention, use of excessive force against civilians, and suppression of peaceful protest. Yet, it is likely that the authors themselves know India will disregard the resolution if it passes. Why else would it contain a sentence calling for New Delhi to condemn religiously-motivated violence, which has provided the entire foundation of Modi’s political career.
Growing economic ties with Qatar