by Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan
Pakistan's government has responded to popular countrywide protests in support of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim minority by setting up a ministerial committee to discuss potential relief efforts.
The committee, comprised of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's closest advisers, has been scheduled to meet for the first time Sunday to evaluate what role Pakistan could have in providing relief, the Interior Ministry said Saturday.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan also criticized the international community for its “criminal silence” and lack of action to prevent the alleged persecution of Rohingya Muslims, which has forced tens of thousands to seek refuge abroad.
“The silence of such bodies raises serious questions about the utility and effectiveness of international forums that proclaim themselves as upholders, defenders and promoters of human rights and democratic values," Nisar said in the statement.
Pakistan's mainstream religious and political parties have held several protests across the country over the last two weeks against the alleged persecution of Rohingya.
The Pakistani government had earlier expressed its solidarity with the Rohingya, but the committee represents its first practical step, an indication that protests might have been influential.
Thousands of Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants have been stranded at sea since Thailand launched an anti-trafficking crackdown May 1 after discovering the bodies of dozens of migrants near its border with Malaysia.
After initially turning back boatloads of migrants, Indonesia and Malaysia agreed to take Rohingya in for one year, ascertaining which are asylum seekers and which economic migrants, on the condition that the international community then resettle them.
