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Self-declared Intellectuals and Economists come up with suggestions for govt that my nephew’s high school group could also have come up with

Nirwa Mehta
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Self-declared Intellectuals and Economists come up with suggestions for govt that my nephew’s high school group could also have come up with

Remember high school? Remember writing essays like, “If I were the Prime Minister of India”? Well, looks like the ‘intellectuals’ and ‘economists’ of our country have now taken inspiration from 14-year-olds and come up with a 7-point agenda to deal with the economic crisis post-coronavirus pandemic. Former Aam Aadmi Party founding member Yogendra Yadav on Friday shared the list which was something even my criminally inclined psychotic nephew’s high school group could have come up with.

Let us dissect this list point-by-point.

Bring back migrants in 10 days

The demand to bring back migrants home in 10 days is a classic example how intellectuals of India, like most mainstream media journalists, have deep contempt for maths and logic. How they arrived at this 10 days remains a mystery. They didn’t even put something like ‘a fortnight’ but exact 10 days. Do they know the total number of migrant and quantified the transportation resources to arrive at it? Were 10 days arrived at due to some statistical modeling taking into account virus spread prediction? No one knows, except 10 days.

Stand with COVID patients and frontline workers

Genius. The first ever call by PM was to show respect to them – an activity that was mocked no end by the same intellectuals. The government has already taken numerous steps to become self-reliant in terms of manufacturing PPEs, ventilators and other essentials needed to fight such an pandemic. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently announced Rs 20 lakh crore economic package for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan‘ – self-reliant India, to tackle the economic downturn owing to Chinese coronavirus. While one admits that there are challenges, one does not really need these great intellectuals to know it.

No one goes hungry

At the cost of sounding insensitive, this point makes it appear like India was in a utopian state where no one ever went hungry before lockdown. India has deep problem of haves and have nots created by structural problems since independence, and in fact prior to independence. So much that the first time ‘Garibi Hatao’ as election campaign was started by Indira Gandhi for 1971 general elections and same was used by her grandson Rahul Gandhi ahead of 2019 elections. Poor in India, have been unfortunately kept poor for election campaigns over the year. The intellectuals, however, are basically trying to show as if any case of hunger is only due to lockdown.

Soon after the lockdown was announced, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh took various steps to ensure that the poor and weaker sections do not suffer. Cash and food was provided. Meanwhile, the union cabinet recently approved a part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan tranche which allocated food grains for stranded migrants. This is expected to benefit about 8 crore people living in different states. The State governments will be identifying the migrants, distribute the grains, will be conducting the complete implementation of this part of the scheme, and come back with the required guidelines.

Jobs for everyone

Now if only the ‘intellectuals’ were intelligent enough to do their homework before they write such Miss India type speech. Various state governments as well as central government are already chalking out details on how to create employment opportunities going forward. Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh has already directed the officials to work out details to create 15 lakh job opportunities in next 6 months. The Central Government, in its Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan economic package announcement also talked about various measures and financial incentives for creating job opportunities.

Income for everyone

Nothing is going to be sufficient in such a large nation. And did we really need leading intellectuals and economists to come up with this? Numbers again have been thrown with no explanation of how they were arrived, or from where money will come. In fact, it appears like after FM Sitharaman announced the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the ‘intellectuals’ scribbled some notes and whatever was already announced, they took essence from it and then arbitrarily put figures corresponding to them as per their whims.

Like, Yogendra Yadav’s gang of intellectuals talk about giving one-time subsidy of Rs 10,000 to hawkers, vendors, small shopkeepers to restart their businesses. Last week, FM Sitharaman announced relief measures to support 50 lakh street vendors. For street vendors, the government has announced Rs 5000 crore special credit facility with initial working capital of Rs 10,000. The Modi government also announced that it will launch special scheme within a month to facilitate easy access to credit to street vendor. This aimed at providing liquidity of Rs 5,000 crore.

No interest till economy revives

It is amusing how the ‘economists’ in Gangs of Yogenndra Yadav seem to be having a difficult relationship with economics. Banks are already stressed due to NPAs, farm loan waivers, etc. No interest on almost all of bank assets – loans are assets for them – means banks will come under further pressure. Banks are backbones of economy. And while Yadav and his buddies have made this sweeping suggestion, they provide zero solution to how the banks will survive without interest.

This is just one step short of asking RBI to print currency notes and distribute them for free so that people have money to spend. Oops. Did I just give them an idea for the next 11-point agenda they are bound to come up with post-Amphan?

All recources with citizens treated as national resources

Remember the “If I were the Prime Minister” essay I talked about before? Well, the kid who got A+ in that essay because he wrote all ‘heart touching and idealistic’ but absolutely impractical things, just wrote this point. These intellectuals and economists want everything you have ever owned including the underwear you’re wearing to be national property.

Let me allow the netizens to explain how exactly any logical, normal, sane human will feel about it.

Well, the government should really not say no to help coming from all quarters and consider the properties of all those who signed the above letter as public property and do the needful. As a Bollywood villain in the 70s would say, in sab ka saala maal hadap lo.

Smart Boy Ajit ready to take over the ‘maal’

Stone-pelting on policemen by Muslim mobs reported in Bokaro and Bahraich during Friday Namaz, social distancing norms violated in Moradabad

OpIndia Staff
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Stone-pelting on policemen by Muslim mobs reported in Bokaro and Bahraich during Friday Namaz, social distancing norms violated in Moradabad

Despite restrictions have been imposed on religious congregations across the country, the Muslim mobs have yet again defied the lockdown orders by not only gathering at Mosque for Friday ‘Namaaz’ but also resorted to violence.

According to the reports. more than 200 people gathered at a Mosque to offer ‘namaaz’ at Narayanpur under Pindrajora police station in Bokaro district in Jharkhand on Friday despite there is a ban on religious congregations. As the local police reached the mosque area to disperse the crowd, the Muslim mob attacked the policemen.

The violent mob then resorted to stone-pelting against police personnel leading to injuries to some of the police officers. The Muslim mob also ransacked the PCR Van, broken the glass.

According to Bokaro SP Chandan Kumar Jha, “After receiving the information that people had gathered to offer namaaz at Narayanpur mosque amidst lockdown, our police team rushed on the spot and saw a lot of crowds there. Our team appealed not to increase the crowd and asked them to follow the lockdown norms.”

The cleric of the mosque and few namaazis have been arrested for violating the lockdown norms. The situation is now under control, said the police officials.

Stone pelting on police by Muslim mob in Bahraich

In a separate incident, a Muslim mob attacked a police team on lockdown duty for not allowing them to offer namaaz at a mosque in Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh on Friday. The attack by the namaazis on policemen has left two personnel injured.

The incident occurred in a mosque named Chaukkan mosque in Katka village of the Huzurpur area of Bahraich. The Muslim mob had gathered at the sport to offer ‘Alvida namaaz’. Noticing some people gathering at the spot, police personnel Ram Pravesh and Vinay Kumar reached the spot and asked to vacate the spot due to the coronavirus lockdown. However, the crowd did not pay heed and things got worse.

The mob pelted stones at the policemen, seriously injuring two police personnel. Soon, the policemen from the nearby areas reached on the spot and nabbed the perpetrators. 

An FIR has been lodged against 10-12 unidentified persons for violating prohibitory orders under IPC sections and also under the Epidemic Diseases Act.

Social distancing norms violated in Moradabad

The social distancing norms were flouted in Uttar Pradesh’ Moradabad on Friday after Muslims gathered at the streets during the food distribution event. The programme was organized by SP MLA Haji Ikram Qureshi on the last Friday of Ramzan violating the lockdown.

A large number of Muslims had gathered to avail free food, violating social distancing norms. The SP MLA brazened out and said, “We’ve been doing this for years. What can I do if the crowd gathered? Why do not you ensure social distancing? I’m trying to control the situation”.

Maldives calls out Pakistan’s anti-India propaganda, says Islamophobia allegations against India factually incorrect

OpIndia Staff
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Maldives calls out Pakistan’s anti-India propaganda, says Islamophobia allegations against India factually incorrect

Maldives has come out in defence of India at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meet and called out Pakistan’s ‘rising Islamophobia’ propaganda against India. As per reports, Pakistan tried to push the narrative of ‘rising Islamophobia’ in India. Maldives, however, called it out and said that isolated statements by motivated individuals along with the misinformation campaign on social media cannot be taken as the feelings of 1.3 billion Indians.

As reported by news agency ANI, Maldives Permanent Representative to the UN Thilmeeza Hussain said that alleging Islamophobia in context of India would be factually incorrect. “Let me state that singling out India, the largest democracy in the world and multi cultural society and home to over 200 million Muslims, alleging Islamophobia would be factually incorrect. It would be detrimental to the religious harmony in the South Asian region. Islam has existed in India for centuries and it is the second largest religion in India with 14.2% of India’s population,” she said.

Maldives, which is also an Islamic country, said that India, in recent years, has developed stronger ties with Islamic nations such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan and Palestine. Prime Minister Modi has been given high civilian awards in these countries.

India-Maldives diplomacy

Amid the Chinese coronavirus outbreak, when India evacuated its citizens stuck in Wuhan, China, the epicentre of pandemic, 7 Maldives nationals were also evacuated. During the debate on Citizenship Amendment Act where allegations were put that it is anti-Muslims, Maldives Speaker Mohamed Nasheed had cited his own example and said that India is a safe haven for minorities. When the Article 370 was abrogated and Jammu & Kashmir was made integral part of India without any riders attached, then, too, Maldives had stood by India stating that Kashmir is India’s internal matter.

DRI alerts Custom departments across country to check smuggling of infrared thermometres

OpIndia Staff
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DRI alerts Custom departments across country to check smuggling of infrared thermometres

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has alerted the custom departments across the country to keep strict vigilance to avoid smuggling of infrared thermometres into the country from China. The move was taken knowing the fact that the demand for such thermometres has seen a sudden boost due to Wuhan coronavirus in the country.

An official said, “The DRI has sent an alert to inland container depots and the cargo airport in Delhi and other places across the country, dealing with the import and export of commodities from abroad, among others asking them to be vigilant about such smuggling.”

He claimed that a tip-off has revealed that the infrared thermometres can be illegally imported into Indian borders and can be sold at a mis-declared rate. Any material imported to the country can be under-invoiced with an intention to evade the custom department and defrauding the government exchequer.

In this method, the invoice which is filed with the authorities for the imports is falsified to show that the price of the material is lower than the actual price which is being paid by the importer abroad. The free trade zone of Dubai is also on the radar of custom officials.

As per reports, India has lost a staggering $13 billion (over 90,000 crore rupees) due to smuggling. This loss is equal to 5.5 percent of the country’s total revenue collection in 2016 as mentioned by US-based think-tank Global Financial Integrity.

An infrared thermometre which is usually used for reading the temperature while avoiding contact may cost between 3,500 to 8,000 rupees. An official said, “A strict vigilance is maintained to thwart such attempts to cause damage to the Indian economy and the local manufacturers.”

Directorate of Revenue intelligence

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence(DRI) is a federal economic intelligence unit that reports to Finance ministry. The agency keeps a check on commercial frauds such as smuggling etc.

As per reports, on May 13, 2500 kg of raw materials for making face masks was intercepted by air cargo export. Adding to that, the customs officials have intercepted many consignments including 5.08 lakh masks, 57 liters of sanitizer in 950 bottles, and 952 PPE kits at the courier terminal in New Delhi. These goods were also attempted to be smuggled in UK, US, and UAE.

To avoid the scrutiny from the customs officials, the goods were termed as packing materials. The government of India has banned the export of such goods. The customs department of Chennai also exposed smuggling of 1000 kg of sanders wood to Malaysia.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, many countries have locally increased the production of such products. They ordered their import after they note a possible shortage owing to domestic demands.

Fact Check: The Wire’s Rohini Singh lies about ventilators received in donation by Gujarat government

OpIndia Staff
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Fact Check: The Wire’s Rohini Singh lies about ventilators received in donation by Gujarat government

Even as the country is facing an unprecedented crisis stemming from the coronavirus outbreak, the well-oiled lie factory at ‘The Wire’ and its ‘journalists’ like Rohini Singh is busy doing what it does best- churning out lie and peddling fake news.

Recently, habitual fake news purveyor, Rohini Singh, authored an article for ‘The Wire’, titled- “Behind Ahmedabad’s Ventilator Controversy, a Backstory of Connections to Top BJP Leaders” which alleged that the Narendra Modi government is procuring 5000 ventilators from a Rajkot based firm which has already been accused of supplying substandard breathing machines to the Ahmedabad’s largest COVID-19 hospital.

Alluding ‘conflict of interest’, the article goes on to claim that the firm’s current and former promoters have had close ties to the BJP leaders-with one business family linked to the expensive suit that was gifted to PM Modi.

Singh conjectures that the ventilators, which the doctors in Ahmedabad hospital have declared to be not up to snuff, may have been procured through the financial resources provided by the PM Cares fund which had claimed earlier this month that it would be spending about Rs 2000 crore on making purchases for “made in India” ventilators.

Relevant section from the Wire article

She then proceeds to claim that the Gujarat government has displayed an unprecedented enthusiasm in promoting the machines which have been patently rejected by the doctors in Ahmedabad’s COVID-19 hospital as inferior and below standard. Singh said that the machines, called as ‘Dhaman-1’, were “aggressively promoted by the Gujarat government”, mentioning chief minister Vijay Rupani as one of the most ardent supporters of the machines.

Singh then moves on to insinuate that the political connections with the firm manufacturing the aforementioned ventilators with the BJP leaders, including PM Modi himself, maybe one of the possible reasons for the Gujarat government to “procure” ventilators from Jyoti CNC, the Rajkot-based ventilator manufacturing firm.

In her bid to tie the “procurement” of ventilators by the Gujarat government to the close-ties shared by the Viranis, one of the business families associated with Jyoti CNC, with PM Modi, Singh highlights the incident when PM Modi was gifted by the Viranis an expensive suit with his name monogrammed all over which he wore during his meeting with then US President Barack Obama in 2015.

Relevant sections from the Wire article

Singh was essentially trying to imply that the BJP government in Gujarat may have struck a ‘quid pro quo’ with the Rajkot-based firm, which has unequivocally expressed its support for PM Modi, by procuring the so-called faulty ventilators.

However, the Press Information Bureau of India took cognisance of the lies and deceit peddled by Ms Singh in The Wire. The official Twitter handle of PIB issued a tweet denouncing the article published on the leftist rag as fake. PIB claimed that the ventilators which Ms Singh is talking about in her article were not procured but were received as a donation. It further added that the quality of the ventilators, which is continuously being ridiculed in the article published on The Wire was in accordance with the required medical standards.

Rohini Singh: Habitual fake news peddler

This is not the first time that the Wire, especially Rohini Singh, has been involved in sharing untenable stories. Ms Singh has a knack of coming up with fake stories laced with innuendos and insinuations every once in a while. Earlier in 2017, Rohini Singh came up with an article on The Wire, alleging impropriety in business dealings of Jay Shah.

Their article, which was riddled with glaring loopholes and inaccuracy, which was decimated by OpIndia. The major “expose” by Rohini Singh prove: It shows how a company owned by Amit Shah’s son, made a loss of Rs 1.48 crores as soon as Modi came into power, and eroded its net worth, forcing it to shut operations.

Another company took standard business finance facilities from a cooperative bank. These finance facilities were misrepresented by Singh as “loan”. It also made use of a Government scheme to promote renewable energy by taking a loan for a wind power project. While narrating this Singh could not even distinguish between a negative reserves position from a positive position.

Subsequently, after questions were raised on the veracity of claims made by Ms Singh, The Wire retreated, altered its story marginally to save itself from the imminent embarrassment. Nevertheless, it failed even in that.

In response to the shoddy story, Jay Shah had slapped ‘The Wire’ with a ₹100 crore defamation case against them. The Supreme Court, in its scathing observation, pulled up The Wire for being in a hurry to publish their story on Jay Shah and said that it was ‘nothing short of yellow journalism’.

PIA plane crash: Crashed Pakistani aircraft came from China after 10 years of use

OpIndia Staff
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PIA plane crash: Crashed Pakistani aircraft came from China after 10 years of use

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane which crashed near the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on Friday was leased to PIA after 10 years of use by China Eastern airlines. The records of Airbus A-320 shows that the passenger plane was used by China Eastern Airlines for 10 years before it became a part of PIA.

The ownership records revealed that the passenger flight was used by China Eastern airlines from 2004 to 2014.

Airworthiness documents revealed that the plane was last checked by the authorities on November 1 2019. The Chief Engineer of PIA signed a separate certificate on April 28 briefing that the maintenance has been conducted on the plane and aircraft is in perfect condition and fully airworthy meeting all the safety standards.

PIA plane crash: 57 people on board confirmed dead, at least 2 survived

The PIA passenger flight which went down near the Jinnah International airport was carrying 107 people on board including passengers and flight crew. As per reports, there were 99 passengers and 8 crew members on board. Several houses have been damaged due to the crash.

Reports suggest that the pilot had reported that he had lost an engine. He made an attempt to land when the plane crashed near the airport in a residential society. Officials say that at least two people have survived the crash. As yet, 57 out of 107 are said to be confirmed dead.

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane crashed near the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on Friday. The PIA flight was traveling from Lahore was about to land in Karachi’s Jinnah international airport when it crashed at the Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir, Karachi.

Pune: Massive fire breaks out after explosion in chemical factory in Kurkumbh

OpIndia Staff
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Pune: Massive fire breaks out after explosion in chemical factory in Kurkumbh

A massive fire broke out in a chemical factory after an explosion was heard in Pune’s Kurkumbh MIDC on Friday morning. Five fire tenders reached the spot to control the fire. As per reports, some explosions were heard in the five-kilometer radius of the unit.

A panic like the situation was triggered when certain explosions were heard around 10:30 am. Thick black smoke was seen blowing out of the chemical factory. Some people are also feared as being trapped inside the factory. However, no casualties have been reported so far.

Devendra Potphode, Chief Fire officer of the Pune Metropolitan Region(PMRDA) said that several fire tenders left to control the situation at Kusmum Distillation and Refining Private Limited Company on Friday.

An official told PTI, “The blaze erupted around 10.30 am. Water tankers were rushed to the site and the fire was doused. Cooling operation is underway now.”

The official claimed that drums containing acetone and ethanol are said to be kept in the factory. He said, “As the fire spread, those drums caught fire and exploded. A blanket of thick black smoke engulfed the area after the blaze. Nobody was injured in the incident as the plant was shut.”

The area has been sealed and barricaded.

Andhra HC orders CBI investigation in suspended doctor assault case, directs to file case against cops

Shashank Bharadwaj
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Andhra HC orders CBI investigation in suspended doctor assault case, directs to file case against cops

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Friday ordered a CBI investigation into the case of Dr Sudhakar, an anaesthetist who was not only suspended from the duty over his complaint of shortage of PPE kits but also assaulted by the police officials last week in Vishakapatnam.

According to the reports, the Andhra Pradesh High Court asked the CBI to investigate and file the investigation report within eight weeks. Taking a serious note of the May 16 incident, the High Court also ordered registration of cases against Visakhapatnam police officers who used excessive force while taking Dr Sudhakar into custody.

The court had on Wednesday directed the Visakhapatnam sessions judge to personally visit the government Hospital for mental health where Sudhakar Rao is admitted and record his statement.

The High Court also took cognizance of a report filed by the Visakhapatnam District Magistrate that stated there were six injury marks on Dr Sudhakar, which was missing in the government report. Sudhakar is currently in a government mental hospital in Vishakapatnam.

The court passed the orders after hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking probe into inhuman treatment of the doctor. The petition was filed by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader V Anita, who had written a letter to the court demanding a probe into the doctor’s manhandling, arrest and admission to a mental hospital.

Cops assault doctor brutally for ‘creating nuisance’ on road

On May 16, in a ghastly incident, the Visakhapatnam police had brutally assaulted Dr Sudhakar, tied his hands and dragged him on the road for allegedly creating nuisance in public and abusing the YSR Congress-led state government in an intoxicated condition.

The videos of a police constable kicking and flooring a bare-chested Dr K Sudhakar had gone viral on social media, had drawn severe criticism, not just from the opposition parties but also civil society.

Reportedly, Sudhakar is an anesthesiologist at Narsipatnam government hospital, who was suspended by the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh government last month on disciplinary grounds after the doctor had demanded protective gears to treat coronavirus patients. The doctor had alleged that the government was not providing an adequate number of PPE kits and N-95 masks to the doctors.

A month after his suspension, the police brutality against the doctor has been reported after a police constable was seen attacking Dr Sudhakar in a public road. The doctor’s hand were tied behind his back by the policeman and beat him up before bundling him into an auto-rickshaw.

The opposition parties, especially Telugu Desam Party had condemned the attack against the doctor incident, alleging that the incident reflecting the poor state of law and order situation in the state.

Following the incident, the constable who had behaved rudely with the doctor was placed under suspension and an inquiry was initiated.

Stone pelting on police in Bahraich as they try to disperse namaaz gathering, two cops severely injured

OpIndia Staff
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Stone pelting on police in Bahraich as they try to disperse namaaz gathering, two cops severely injured

Some people gathered in mosques of Bahraich district for namaaz despite lockdown due to pandemic. The police went to disperse the gathering where crowd indulged in stone pelting as two policemen got seriously injured. Other police stations from the nearby areas also reached on the spot and nabbed the perpetrators. The Superintendent of police inspected the scene and ordered an inquiry into the matter.

Muslims gathered to offer alvida namaaz

There is a Mosque named Chaukkan mosque in Katka village of the Huzurpur area of Bahraich. As per reports, Muslims gathered here to offer alvida namaaz. Noticing some people gathering at the spot, police personnel Ram Pravesh and Vinay Kumar went for dialogues citing the lockdown and safety reasons to avoid the coronavirus and asked them to return and not to offer namaaz in a crowd. The crowd didn’t pay heed and things got worse.

Both the policemen saved their lives by escaping the spot and informed the police station about the incident. More police personnel were deployed. The injured police officers were admitted to the nearest health center. SP Vipin Mishra, ASP, and Circle Officer inspected the scene. The SP informed that 9 men and 4 women have been detained in accusation.

Police went for dialogues with the villagers, in return, they vandalized the PCR

A similar incident was reported in the Narayanpur area in Pindrajora police station of Chas in Bokaro. A PCR van of police went on to stop the mass gathering for Friday prayers after getting a tip-off. The villagers later vandalized the PCR van. More policemen were later deployed to bring the situation under control. The driver of the PCR van suffered minor injuries. In this incident two villagers were also injured.

In this lockdown, people are directed to offer namaaz at home and avoid the gatherings. On Friday afternoon, police got information that some people have gathered to offer namaaz in a mosque in Narayanpur. Pindrajora police station personnel rushed to the spot to investigate the matter.

Police noted that around 100 people had gathered to offer namaaz. The police went for dialogue and explained that lockdown norms should be implemented so that one can avoid the coronavirus disease.

Instead of listening to the advice, the villagers vandalized the PCR van. Seeing the atmosphere deteriorating, more police force was called on the spot. Chas SDPO Bhagwan Das and Chas BDO Sanjay Shandilya also reached the spot.

Pakistan Army forcefully ‘harvesting organs’ from ethnic minorities in Balochistan: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan Army forcefully ‘harvesting organs’ from ethnic minorities in Balochistan: Report

The Pakistan army has allegedly been involved in the abduction, forced disappearances, torture and forced organ harvesting of people living in ethnic areas of Balochistan, report Organiser. The report claims that corpses of such ethnic minorities are wrapped by the army in white cloth and family members are prevented from seeing anything other than the face. Such dead bodies are buried with missing organs.
 
Reportedly, the army would earlier bury the dead in ‘secluded places’. However, after allegations of forced organ harvesting have come to light, such bodies are now buried in the presence of family members. The report claims that the army covers the bodies such that the stitch marks are not visible to the family. Interestingly, the army also does not allow post-mortem to be conducted on such dead bodies.

Cases of Organ Harvesting in Balochistan

One such case was that of a man named Gurham Baloch. Followed his abduction by the Pakistan army, his corpse was returned after two days to the family for burial. However, the last rites were performed under the watch of the army officials. According to local correspondents who investigated the matter, essential organs were harvested from the body of the deceased. Gurham was arrested along with two others on Feb 22, 2019, from Herronk in Kech district. He worked as a labourer and hailed from a poor family.

When the Pakistani Army raided his house, he had gone to the local market. Following the interrogation of family members, the military officials asked them to call the victim. On reaching home, Gurham was arrested along with his two brothers. They were shifted to a nearby army camp where all of them were tortured.

While the two brothers were released, Gurham’s dead body was carried to their house in army cars. As per the modus operandi, the family members were not allowed to see his body. A local anonymously revealed, “Only his face was disclosed. Army personnel did not allow anyone to see his body. However, during burial, they saw a little. His body was cleaved, and all essential organs were taken out.” The family members were aghast at this organ harvesting but couldn’t do anything owing to fear.

Reportedly, forced disappearances and torture at the hands of army personnel in regions dominated by ethnic minorities in Pakistan is rampant since 2008. As per Organiser, Abdul Rahman, the cousin of Baloch National Movement (BNM) Vice-President Lal Munir, was abducted on February 24, 2013, by the Pakistan army. His corpse with missing essential organs was discovered near the Milar area in Karachi on March 10, 2013.

Ban on Commercial Trade of Organs

Reportedly, illegal organ harvesting has become a flourishing trade in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The country had, however, banned the commercial sale of human organs in 2010. As per the law, anyone found involved in organ harvesting and trade of organs can face up to a jail term of 10 years and a maximum fine of PKR 1 million.

Under the current provisions, donors can give their organs to relatives and not to foreigners. As per the report published by the Organiser, people from abroad including Britain, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa travel to Karachi in Pakistan for organ transplantation. Such operations are carried out in discreet private clinics or in concealed basements.

Photo Courtesy: Organsier

The Chinese Link

Human rights activist Naela Quadri Baloch fear that the ethnic minority of Baloch would become exterminated at the hands of the Pakistani army. She compares the treatment (genocide) meted out the people in Balochistan to that of Jews in Germany during Hitler’s time and the Bengalis in East Pakistan. “As per the existing population, every day 10 to 50 people (in Balochistan) are getting disappeared which will result in the elimination of Baloch people,” she was quoted as saying.

She alleged that the Pakistan army is not only behind the resources in Balochistan but also the organ of the ethnic minorities in the area. Naela said, “They are kidnapping our children and women so that they get killed and their organs to be sold. Pakistani and Chinese armies are doing it together. You get the cheapest organ transplant in China. Where do they get all these organs? They have implemented the same in their country and have live blood banks. They are doing the same in Balochistan and Sindh.”

Forced Disappearances

According to Manzoor Pashteen, 1000s of Pashtuns are abducted by the Pakistani army every year and sold by its Generals for money. Estimates say that around 40,000 Baloch and 25,000 Mohajirs are still missing. Tens and thousands of Pashtuns have been forcibly disappeared from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In 2017, the US Treasury Department said that it imposes sanctions on all Human Rights abusers from across the globe. US President Donald Trump had signed an Executive order to impose sanctions on grave human rights abusers from around the world. In this regard, sanctions were imposed on a Pakistani surgeon named Mukhtar Hamid Shah who is believed to be involved in organ trafficking, kidnapping, and wrongful confinement.

Shah was arrested in 2016 for holding 24 impoverished individuals against their will, under the pretext of providing them jobs. Doctors were planning to harvest their kidneys. Reportedly, 400 people were kept in detention at the apartment at various points in time. Activists demand that Donald Trump impose sanctions against high-ranking army officials deployed in Balochistan and are involved in organ trafficking, forced disappearances and murders.

Photo Credits: Organiser

The Silence of International Organisations on Balochistan

The Human Rights activists in Balochistan have been time and again emphasised the need for international organisations such as Red Cross, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, European Council, Human Rights without Frontiers, etc. to take cognisance of the humanitarian crisis in Pakistan. Besides requesting them to set up their offices in Balochistan, they have demanded reports on the deaths of civilians at the hands of the Pakistani army.
 
They have demanded trial against guilty army personnel and high-ranking officers for crimes against humanity. Owing to the atrocities perpetrated on the people of Balochistan, they have demanded freedom from the Punjabi-dominated army. Several people are forced to pick up arms and resist the tyrannical army. Locals say, “This vicious circle of exploitation and Human Rights abuse will end only when they get freedom. Till then their freedom struggle will continue.”

 

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