Islamabad, Dec 26 Highlighting "entrenched prejudice" against Sindhis in Pakistan, that remains rooted in state and society alike, a report has revealed that Shehzad Ghias Shaikh - a famous podcaster, writer and social media presenter in the country - is facing serious threats to his security as he has started exposing the deep-seated prejudices against Sindhis prevalent in the country, particularly Karachi.
The report detailed that racism against Sindhis continues to shape politics, media, and everyday life, silencing dissent through fear and hostility, in Pakistan.
"The malignant biases sown at the very inception of the country and nurtured over the decades have started bearing bitter fruit for everyone to taste. Remember the remarks of the first Prime Minister of the country: 'Do camel-herders have a culture?', mocking Sindhi culture? Unfortunately, this blatant bigotry against the community, encouraged through the years, is not just condoned; it has been normalised in society," Mohammad Ali Mahir, a political observer based in the US, wrote in leading Pakistani daily 'The Friday Times'.
"I happened to watch, for example, a programme hosted by the famous cricketers Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and the singer Fakhr-e-Alam. They were making fun of a bowler named Shahnawaz Dahani from Larkana. I could not believe my ears when I heard the grandson of General Rani saying, 'These people (obviously referring to Sindhis) are good for nothing. They have no talent, except for, probably, hospitality.' Both Wasim and Waqar laughed loudly and shamelessly in approval. But maybe Alam was right," he added.
A few months back, Sindh government's decision to put the Ajrak symbol on the license plates of vehicles registered in the province, faced opposition, particularly from one immigrant ethnic terrorist outfit, as Ajrak represented Sindh. One Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) councillor in Karachi placed a Ajrak number plate around the neck of a donkey, took a picture and shared it on social media.
This action was not unexpected from a Jamaat member as the JI's current chief Hafiz Naeem, himself from Hazara, had pledged to cleanse Karachi of Sindhis while he was running for the mayorship of the city, During his tenure as Pakistan's Prime Minister and prior to that, Imran Khan during his visits to the city publicly attempted to incite the racial biases of people of Karachi by offering sympathies to them for being governed by people from outside Karachi, Sindhis.
Earlier, former Pakistan President General Musharraf said that Sindhis do not merit top jobs. He made this statement when he was asked why Sindhis do not hold top positions under his leadership.
In a report in The Friday Times, Mohammad Ali Mahir wrote, "From the ‘eternal truth’ uncovered by the first Prime Minister of Pakistan about Sindhis being uncultured camel-herders, to the royal decree by the country’s last dictator that Sindhis were a meritless, ignorant lot, one can clearly see a pattern, a continuum of state-orchestrated and propagated bias against Sindhis, right from the early days of the country to date."
"Even today, I find it hard to name one Sindhi minister or powerful bureaucrat in the Shehbaz government. The Supreme Court of the country went without a single Sindhi-speaking judge for a long time, up until the end of the Bandial era. The reason: some powerful judges did not want to see a Sindhi-speaking judge on the Court. Ghias Shaikh, being the conscience of the country, is under threat. He has started speaking openly against the hatred prevailing against a major community in the country, and as a result, he is facing threats," he added.
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