The annual report by US state department though highlights the miseries such as human trafficking, yet is silent on other Human Right issues witnessed in this decade. Unbelievable stories of American heroes like Dr Shakil Afridi, who worked with the C.I.A. to collect DNA samples of Osama under the guise of a bogus vaccination.
The doctor gave fake vaccination against Polio, by actually taking DNA samples in the hope of locating Bin Laden. To get to this old dysfunctional Osama the CIA never realized the cost of life of about 200,000 children in FATA area of Pakistan who are now at risk of Polio to live throughout their life as handicapped individuals. Such silent killers remind of sufferings of generations born in Japan in 1940 and 50s.
by Hamid Waheed
The society moved from slavery to freedom, from caves and into civilization through struggle of centuries and generations to recognize human rights and values.
The democratic system traditionally rely on the separation of powers and judicial review to protect liberty and impose legal restrictions on government officials including intelligence agencies. But in the post-9/11 period, restraint of government was some how relegated to few who want to take away the rights and liberty of the society. The ones who have made American culture a hostage to fear of Terrorism. The effects of this are unfortunately being felt by the entire world in general and south Asia, the zone of War On Terror in particular. After 9/11, the human rights were often compromised in their commitments to principles of liberty, equality, dignity, fair process, and the rule of law.
The group of few tarnished the American image of value system. With each step of victory in this direction the super power and its partners keep loosing the battle of hearts and minds . A decade later, the most daunting legacy of September 11th is that Americans have gradually abandoned the notion that morally-based values such as human rights should define their identity and guide their behavior. As the time passes old issues like Abu Ghauraib are complimented by new which signals an ascending graph of planned deteriorating human rights situation in society.
"Today it is estimated as many as 27 million people around the world are victims of modern slavery, what we sometimes call trafficking in persons," Clinton said at the unveiling of the report at the State Department as the US unveiled its annual report into human trafficking in mid of Jun."Those victims of modern slavery are women and men, girls and boys, and their stories remind us of the kind of inhumane treatment we are capable of as human beings," said Clinton. On India, the report states that the country is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking.
The report is however silent on other Human Right issues witnessed in this decade. Unbelievable stories of American heros like Dr Shakil Afridi, who worked with the C.I.A. to collect DNA samples of Osama under the guise of a bogus vaccination. He gave fake vaccination against Polio, by actually taking DNA samples in the hope of locating Bin Laden. To get to this old dysfunctional Osama the CIA never realized the cost of life of about 200,000 children in FATA area of Pakistan who are now at risk of Polio to live throughout their life as handicapped individuals. Such silent killers remind of sufferings of generations born in Japan in 1940 and 50s.
The drone strikes have been a sore point with the public and Pakistani politicians, who describe them as violations of sovereignty that produce unacceptable civilian casualties but the Americans term this the most effective tool to get Al-Quida leadership hiding in remote areas of Pak- Afghan border. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Dr Navi Pillay said in a press conference in Islamabad that ''Drone attacks do raise serious questions about compliance with international law,'' Dr Pillay told. ''Ensuring accountability for any failure to comply with international law is also difficult when drone attacks are conducted outside the military chain of command and beyond.
Talking of the double standards it surprises the community when a credible international news paper in month of Jun reports that A former Indian army officer Avtar Singh lived in the U.S.A illegally for at least five years before he killed his wife, two children this month. Mr Singh had been arrested by U.S. investigators for unlawful presence in July 2007 but they decided not to deport him but to use him. Police also discovered that he was being sought in India on a murder charge In Kashmir, where more than 68,000 people, mostly civilian, have been killed under a controversial state Law.
The American did jail Ghulam Nabi Fai who was just a lobbiest for freedom struggle in Kashmir but kept nurturing Avtar Singh a killer a human right abuser. The space for invoking human rights on moral grounds alone has virtually disappeared. The War Against Terror continues. It waxes and wanes. Innocents die. Livelihood is lost. Bin Laden is found and killed but the world community keeps loosing freedom and human values. Who will stop this degrading trend still remains unanswered.
Hamid Waheed has done his masters in International Relations, his area of focus is on South Asia, Central Asia and the Muslim World in general. He is a keen follower of war on terror and has written extensively on this. Hamid did his post graduate diplomas from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore. and is now into writing for past 10 years or so.
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