Over 200,000 Rohingyas flee to Pakistan to avoid repression

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Over 200,000 displaced Rohingya Muslims are living in slums in the suburbs of the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi.The displaced Muslims have been forced to flee Myanmar amid growing concerns over a state-sponsored ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in the country.The Buddhist-majority government of Myanmar refuses to recognize Rohingyas and classifies them as illegal migrants, although the Rohingyas are said to be Muslim descendants of Persian, Turkish, Bengali, and Pathan origin, who migrated to Myanmar as early as the 8th century.The UN human rights authorities point the finger of blame at Myanmarese security forces that are believed to have been targeting the Muslims rather than bringing the violence to an end.According to reports, thousands of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims are living in dire conditions in refugee camps after government forces and Buddhist extremists started burning down their villages on August 10.The United Nations says decades of discrimination have left the Rohingyas stateless, with Myanmar implementing restrictions on their movement and withholding land rights, education, and public services from them. The UN has also described the Muslim community as the Palestine of Asia and one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. /129