ISLAMABAD: A high-profile committee, formed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, will meet for the first time on Sunday to suggest measures and relief efforts for Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar who are being massacred as the world looks on in silence.

The committee consists of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, PM’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz and PM’s Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi.

A statement issued by the interior minister on Saturday expressed the hope that the government would proactively reach out to their oppressed brethren in Myanmar.

Read: Rallies against Rohingya killings

The minister said he had raised the issue twice during recent cabinet meetings and the PM and the entire cabinet expressed serious concern over the plight of Muslims in Myanmar.

He deplored the inaction of the international community and what he called “the criminal silence” of human rights organisations worldwide over the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

Interior minister deplores the international community’s silence

“The gross violation of human rights of Muslims in Myanmar and their persecution and genocide raises serious questions about the utility and effectiveness of international forums that proclaim themselves as upholder, defender and promoter of human rights and democratic values,” the statement quoted him as saying.

Also read: Mass graves with ‘hundreds of bodies’ found in Malaysia

Chaudhry Nisar made an impassioned appeal to the United Nations, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Muslim states and regional powers to act to stop these killings and asked the international community not to ignore the genocide. He cautioned that the scale of the atrocities in this part of the world would nullify recent efforts aimed at addressing the grievances of the Muslims to wean the youth away from the traps of radicalisation and extremism.

The interior minister also lamented that except for a few countries, no serious effort had been witnessed from the Muslim world to check the oppressors and to plead the case of the oppressed community. “This speaks volumes for our apathy and indifferent attitude towards our fellow brethren and is a matter of serious concern for the entire Muslim world,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2015

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