Wake up Shabaz Sharif! Christians fearful and fleeing Punjab -by Junaid Qaiser
Violence against minorities is on the increase-and religious minority groups in Pakistan remain vulnerable due to the continued misuse and abuse of blasphemy laws. According to the, Annual Report on Religious Minorities in Pakistan, presented by the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, misuse of the blasphemy law continues all over the country: in 2009 some 112 registered cases involved, 57 Ahmadi, 47 Muslims and 8 Christians. Since 1987 (then the law came into force) 1,032 innocent people have been unjustly punished. Direct episodes of religious intolerance are also on the rise. The report says:
“9 attacks on Christian churches and villages [in Punjab], some serious (in Gojra, Sialkot and Kasur) in which people were killed, burnt and others injured.”
The report also deals with the question of property taken away from non Muslim groups (places of worship, temples, and cemeteries belonging to Christians or other religious communities). Another chapter deals with the erosion of religious freedom, which takes place in a situation of total lack of information among the public: minority groups denied permission to build places of worship; in 2008 there were 414 cases of forced conversion to Islam of Christians and other believers.
Religious minorities, including Christians, Hindis, Sikhs, Ahmadis and Shiites, say that the blasphemy laws, which were introduced by a Pakistani military dictator General Ziaul Haq, are widely misused against them. It is evident that in majority of cases the charges have mala fide intentions – such as personal enmity, religious rivalry, property disputes etc.
“Blasphemy laws provide harsh sentences, including the death penalty, and injuring the ‘religious feelings’ of individual citizens is prohibited. Incidents in which police officials take bribes to file false blasphemy charges against Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus, and occasionally Muslims continue to occur, with several dozen cases reported each year. No blasphemy convictions have withstood appeal to date, but the charges alone can lead to lengthy detentions, ill-treatment in custody, and persecution by religious extremists,” says Freedom House report Freedom in the World – Pakistan (2010) which was issued this month.
During the last few weeks, five more Christians and a Shia religious leader in Pakistan have faced charges under Pakistan’s discriminatory blasphemy laws, 295 B & C of Pakistan Penal Code. On May 28, terrorists killed at least 93 members of the Ahmadi religious sect and injured around 100 others in attacks on two Ahmadi’s worship places during Friday prayer services in Lahore. On June 25, thousands of Muslim people of Yazman Tehsil, Southern Punjab, staged a demonstration against the police for not arresting an alleged Shia blasphemer who had allegedly committed blasphemy during his address in the village’s a congregation hall for Shia ritual ceremonies on May 27. The Shia Muslim residents of the village are frightened due to threats from a banned terrorist organization in the area. Bashir Haider, a Shia resident, told a local newspaper that the people of both sects had been living peacefully in the area for the last 50 years, and has called for an independent investigation into threats received by the Shia community. In another case, Pakistani Christian Rehmat Masih, 73, was charged with blasphemy, on June 19, 2010, a report was filed at the Jhumra police station. According to the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), the charge against Masih is clearly based on false allegations and linked to a land dispute between the accuser Hameed and the local Christian community, where about 25 impoverished Christians are a distinct in minority. Witnesses cited in the report filed by Hameed, Shahbaz Khalid and Afzaal Bashir, have had political differences with Masih, according to the NCJP.
Recently, in Warispura, a suburb of Faisalabad (Punjab) and a former Christian ghetto with some 100,000 residents, tensions were running high. Hundreds of militants joined a protest march, calling for the death of two Christian brothers accused of blasphemy. During the procession, the mob stoned a Catholic church. Thousands of Muslims took out a procession on the roads of Faisalabad from the afternoon till evening on July 11, 2010, demanding the death of the two Christian brothers accused of blasphemy. As they went by Holy Rosary Catholic Church, they threw rocks and stones at the building.
In previous days, additional attacks were recorded in the predominantly Christian neighborhood. The protesters chanted slogans, raised weapons and announced to teach the lesson to the Christian community in Warispura. More than 400 protesters continued their protest for six hours in which they stoned the Catholic Church in Warispura and burnt tyres on the roads.
On 10 July persons in another procession burnt tires on the streets; a call went up declaring that Christians would not be allowed to live in Warispura. At 1:00 am that night a procession of motorbikes took place, with riders allegedly harassing Christians who were leaving their homes with their belongings.
The protestors announced that a meeting would be held at Ghanta Chowk on 11 July, a central gathering place for such rallies. The loudspeakers from a number of mosques were used illegally to do so, and to incite violence against local Christians (in breach, as noted below, of Section 3 of the Loud Speaker Act 1965. The police began efforts to address the protestors on the evening of July 10, and that after a number of meetings it was agreed that the rallies and threats should stop. However protest gatherings continued on July 11, and united into a large meeting at noon, at which Muslim leaders from various religious political parties, among them Khatme-e-Nabowat, Jamiat Ulema-ePakistan and Namoos-e-Risalat reportedly reiterated death threats against the brothers, because the government had not sentenced them to death..
At the meeting it was announced that a set of gallows had been set up at the tower of Ghanta Ghar (in the centre of Faisalabad), in preparation for the hanging of blasphemous Christians. Despite the presence of the police the protesters did not disburse but announced to continue their protest on July 11.The situation is still tense in Waris Pura and Muslim youth is roaming in the streets holding weapons and sticks.
Christian community is scared as they remember the Gojra incident in 2009, in which nine Christians were killed and burnt alive and more than 120 homes were completely burnt by a Muslim mob who wanted to give punishment to the Christian community in that area for alleged blasphemy charges of one Talib Masih.
The Asian Human Rights Commission is of the opinion that two Christian men are in imminent danger. The police officers involved have not followed the penal code, which only allows such charges to be made after an investigation by the superintendent of police. The blasphemy law was amended in 2004 specifically to avoid its abuse via baseless charges. Section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPP) now states that no case of blasphemy can be filed without the investigation of the superintendent of police.
At the root of the crisis is a blasphemy accusation leveled at Rashid Emmanuel and his brother Sajid. The two were arrested on 2 July for allegedly writing insulting words against the prophet Muhammad (PBUH). They have rejected the accusation. According to reports, Rashid Emmanuel, 32, a pastor, on the evening of 2 July received a telephone call from a man who claimed to be from the La Salle School, a prominent Christian educational centre. He asked to meet Rashid about an urgent matter at Zilla Council chowk (crossroads) in Faisalabad.
When Rashid arrived later that evening he saw four persons standing in the dark; before ten uniformed police officers reportedly emerged and arrested him. He was taken to the Civil Lines Police Station nearby and shown a photocopy of a four-page handwritten pamphlet that criticized Islam and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The pamphlet appeared to be signed by Rashid and his younger brother Sajid Emmanuel, and instructed the reader to contact them for further information. It featured their cell phone numbers and national identity card numbers.
A representative of the Christian community– Mr. Atif Jamil Pagan, the Chief of Pakistan Minorities Democratic Harmony Foundation – contacted the police and was told by the SHO that a sub inspector and an assistant superintendent had been chosen for the investigation; he allegedly acknowledged that they were not complying with section 295C of the PPC because they were under pressure from extremist Muslim groups in the community. The sub inspector, a Mohammad Hessian, later told Atif that the accused was being detained without evidence against him because the case was a sensitive one.
On July3, the police took Rashid to the Anti Terrorist Court (ATC) for police remand, where the case was correctly refused. Religious matters are no longer under the authority of the ATC, as maintained in clause 780 of the Anti Terrorist Act (ATA) 1997. Rashid was taken to a duty magistrate in the Civil Lines jurisdiction, who agreed to his two-day remand in police custody, despite the breach of procedure.
According to media reports, the accused remain in detention at the police station without adequate protection against mob violence.
There are strong fears that they could be attacked. The men have reported that co-detainees are also threatening them. Immediate action must be taken to remove them from danger, provide strong state protection, take up their case according to the laws and procedures of the country, and quell the rising tide of violence against the Christian community. A large number of Christians has fled Warispura, fearing violence. The risk of attacks against Christians and their property is very high.
The Christian community in Wasapura is extremely concerned that a similar attack could be planned around the anniversary of the Gojra violence, on 31 July. With such incidents already proven to be possible, it is imperative that these concerns are acted on, and the greatest efforts are taken by the administration to protect these Pakistanis from potential attack, and reassure them of their security and their rights. The situation on the ground is very uncertain for non-Muslims since sectors of the media appear free to propagate hatred against non-Muslims.
Meanwhile, the provincial government of Punjab is still maintaining close relations with militant groups and the judiciary is releasing militants. Sadly, Punjab government still in state of denial and it is this kind of muddled environment that suits extremist criminals and terror networks to further enhance their agenda. The chief minister of Punjab – Mian Shahbaz Sharif publicly requested the Taliban to desist from attacks in Punjab, claiming to espouse the same ideology and same background. In the month of March, Punjab’s Muddle headed Law Minister Rana Sanaullah participated in a public rally with the leaders of another banned terrorist organization in Jhang City; many terrorists came from that city to attack Christians in Gojra last year.
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Mob sets church set on fire near Sialkot. Shame on the pro-Taliban government of Punjab. Shame on Sharif brothers
12 SEPTEMBER 2009
We must take note of the fact that the Christians of Punjab have been attacked for the fourth time in two months for alleged desecration of the Holy Quran. Normally the media responds to frequency of occurrence by ignoring the topic, but in this case alarm must be raised before the terrorists virtually take over our lives.
A village in sub-district Sambrial in Sialkot has experienced the torching of a local church after clerics on mosque loudspeakers accused a Christian of causing a few pages of the Quran to fall into the drain. The holy pages were carried on the street by a child in the form of a “sipara”, which fell from her hand as a Christian boy allegedly brushed past her.
A mob soon gathered, beat up the Christians of the village, and burned the church. Christians, alarmed by the possibility of a mass murder of their co-religionists, took out a protest demonstration in Sialkot but were allegedly fired upon by the police. The protest wanted to point out that the siege of the village by a fanatic mob should be lifted to save people’s lives.
The Christian community in the area is understandably perturbed and is venting its anger on the Christian ministers at the provincial and federal levels. They want them to resign after mobs burned and killed in Gojra and Bahmani Wallah near Lahore. A similar fate for the Christians of Chichawatni was avoided by citizen committees this month.
When Pakistani scholars assert that Pakistan is in the grip of extremism, they are pointing to two locations where it is gestated and spread around: the madrassa and the mosque. Alas, both places are free of activists carrying the moderate message of the state. Equally sadly, the Christian community has lost all faith in the state and is demanding repeal of the Blasphemy Law. The government has weakly conceded only “procedural changes” while admitting that the mischief lies in the Law. (Daily Times)
SIALKOT: A mob protesting against alleged desecration of Holy Quran by some Christian youths torched a church in a village near Sambrial, about 30km from here, on Friday afternoon. The protesters also ransacked two houses adjacent to the church.
According to reports reaching here, 15-year-old Hina was going home after attending a Quran class in a mosque in her Jaithikey village when five people, identified as Fanish Maseeh, Saleem Maseeh, Qaisar Maseeh, Danish Maseeh and Nadeem Maseeh, allegedly snatched the holy book from her and threw it into a drain.
A large number of villagers armed with bricks, stones and sticks attacked the church and set it on fire.
Rescue 1122 personnel rushed to the place and extinguished the fire.
All markets in Sambrial and adjoining areas were closed and police patrolled the village to avert further violence.
Gujranwala Commissioner Hashim Tareen, acting DCO of Silakot Tariq Zaman, DPO Waqar Ahmad Chohan and local legislators visited the village and held talks with leaders of religious groups.
The DPO told reporters that the father of one of the accused had been detained and the people involved in the incident would be arrested soon.
Local Christian leaders condemned the burning of the church.
Emanuel K. Gill, Bishop Samuel Pervaiz and Javaid Silvestre told reporters that the situation was alarming and the government had failed to protect minorities and their places of worship. They demanded that those who attacked the church should be arrested.
Senior police officials claimed that the attackers were local people.
There are more than 100 houses of Muslims and 30 of Christians in the village. All the Christians have left the village to save their lives.
UCAN News Report
JAYTIKE, Pakistan (UCAN) — Hundreds of Muslims set ablaze a Protestant church Sept. 11 in this town of Punjab province after a Christian youth was accused of tearing the Qur’an.
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Devastation in Gojra, Pakistan, in August, after Muslim extremists attacked Christian homes and churches |
The attack took place after torn pages of the Muslim holy book were found in front of a Christian house. Mobs have blocked access to the town and raised slogans calling for the severe punishment of the “blasphemer.”
Tension built in the area and police have been trying to control the situation. Security forces have asked Christians to remain in their homes. Jaytike town has about 60 Christian homes.
Father Shehzada Khurram of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church is heading a team to the town.
According to initial information from Church sources, a love affair between a Christian youth and a local Muslim girl led to the assault. “The concerned Muslim family discovered the secret affair today and accused the Christian of tearing the Qur’an. We fear attacks on local Christians,” Francis Azad, a catechist in Jaytike told UCA News.
The latest anti Christian violence is the seventh such incident this year.
Just over a month ago, 10 Catholics were killed in rioting in the Punjab city of Gojra and in the nearby village of Korian. A Muslim mob vandalized and looted 113 Christian houses and damaged four Protestant churches in these areas on July 30 and Aug. 1.
Tensions arose after pages containing Islamic inscriptions were found in front of a Christian home in Korian. Muslims accused the family of blasphemy against Islam.
In another incident, suspected Muslim militants shot six Christians and injured seven more in Quetta city, Baluchistan on Aug. 28 after threats of “Convert to Islam or Die,” media reported.
Church dissatisfied with legal proceedings against rioters
HYDERABAD, Pakistan (UCAN) — Church leaders have expressed disappointment over the lack of progress in legal action against perpetrators of anti-Christian rioting in Punjab province.
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Archbishop Lawrence J. Saldanha |
“We are very much disappointed with the legal proceedings,” said Archbishop Lawrence J. Saldanha, head of the Catholic Church in Pakistan. “A month has passed since the massacre and yet none of the accused has been punished. I am afraid the culprits will go scot-free and the case will be put in cold storage.”
Christians in the Muslim-majority country are continuing to hold protest rallies and press conferences after 10 Catholics were killed in rioting in the Punjab city of Gojra and in the nearby village of Korian. A Muslim mob vandalized and looted 113 Christian houses and damaged four Protestant churches in these areas on July 30 and Aug. 1.
Tensions arose after pages containing Islamic inscriptions were found in front of a Christian home in Korian. Muslims accused the family of blasphemy against Islam.
Police have detained 103 Muslims for attacking the Christians. Hearings are taking place at a special anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad, which has turned down all bail applications to date.
On Aug. 29, Catholic and Protestant Churches in Hyderabad jointly organized an iftar (evening meal breaking Muslims’ daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan) program at St. Thomas Cathedral Church.
The event was attended by about 200 people including Muslim clerics, and Christian, Hindu and Bahai religious scholars.
In a seminar prior to the meal, entitled “Partners in Peace,” both Muslim and Christian speakers condemned the recent anti-Christian incidents and abuse of blasphemy laws.
Allama Mohammad Abbas Komeli, a Muslim cleric, condemned the violence. “Religion is a personal matter,” he told the audience. “Every person has a right to observe his religious doctrine or teachings. Nobody has the right to persecute another in the name of religion.”
Badar Soomro, a Muslim university professor and Human Rights Commission of Pakistan member suggested theological studies of all religions be included in the university syllabus. “This will promote interreligious dialogue,” he suggested.
According to Father John Murad, vicar general of Hyderabad diocese and one of the participants at the event, the Church is still waiting for justice. “The early development is very slow and none of the terrorists have been condemned. It is not a good sign and seems that the struggle against the blasphemy laws will be a long one,” he later told UCA News.
Blasphemy laws make an insult to the Qur’an an offense punishable by up to life imprisonment, while giving the death penalty for anyone convicted of insulting Prophet Muhammad.
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Bishop Max John Rodrigues of |
According to data collected by the Catholic bishops’ National Commission for Justice and Peace, at least 964 persons were charged under these laws from 1986 to August 2009. They include 479 Muslims, 119 Christians, 340 Ahmadis (a sect that many Muslims consider heretical) and 14 Hindus. Church leaders have long charged the laws are being abused for personal gain and to harass non-Muslims.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had hinted at a review of the blasphemy laws during his Aug. 7 visit to a Christian colony in Gojra. “A committee… will discuss laws detrimental to religious harmony to sort out how they could be improved,” Gilani had said. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who accompanied the prime minister, also called the recent incidents a “test case.”
According to Archbishop Saldanha, “words alone” cannot guarantee the safety of Christians who constitute a tiny religious minority in the country.
“The Church initiated a signature campaign last month for the repeal of the blasphemy laws. We are expecting more than 200,000 signatures,” he said. “We shall keep asking the authorities. However, it seems the government is under pressure from religious conservatives. It is a difficult situation and only God can help us.”
Christians make up 1.6 percent of Pakistan’s 160 million people, 95 percent of whom are Muslims.
Two christians killed in Faisalabad today.
The struggle of Pakistan’s Christians
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSvZYxlFzhQ
Christians persecution in Pakistan
http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2009/08/christians-persecution-in-pakistan.html
A burnt house of a Christian family in Azafi Abadi at Chak 95-JB on Gojra-Faisalabad Road. – Photo by White Star – Courtesy Daily Dawn Pakistan Christians’ homes burnt over ‘desecration’ dated Sat, 01 Aug, 2009 Sha’aban 09, 1430
Christians in Pakistan are suffering relentless persecution
Burning Questions
1 – A JUDGMENT by the High Court in Lahore is worrying Pakistan’s Christians. The court decided recently that Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are applicable to all the phrophets of Islam. Jesus is a prophet in Islamic teaching. By worshipping Jesus as the son of God, Christians are, it could be argued, committing a blasphemy. The Bible itself, which Islamic scholars regard as not strictly factual, might be reckoned to contain blasphemies against Abraham, Noah, David and Jacob, all of whom are in the Islamic canon. Blasphemy carries the death sentence in Pakistan. Reference: Prophet and loss: Pakistan. (blasphemy law) The Economist (US) May 7, 1994
2 – The two cleaners from Jhang district, 300 miles south of Islamabad, were jailed by a Faisalabad court in 1999 under Pakistan’s draconian blasphemy laws, having been wrongly accused of burning a copy of the Koran. Because the law can be invoked on the word of just one witness, it is frequently manipulated by Muslims to settle scores or rouse religious tensions. Reference: Pakistan’s blasphemy laws used to persecute non-Muslims Massoud Ansari in Lahore and Michael Hirst Published: 12:01AM BST 25 Jun 2006
3 – Lahore: March 2, 2009. (SLMP report) Two Christians named Wallayat Masih son of Saraina Masih alias Sala resident of village Maloki District Kasur and Mushtaq Masih son of Sooba Masih resident of Kareem Park Bank Stop Lahore have been charged under blasphemy law vide case registered vide First Information Report (FIR) No. 33 dated 1st March 2009, under section 295 B & C with police station Theh Shaikham District Kasur, both have been arrested and presently detained in the local police station. 7 team members from CLAAS and SLMP visited village Maloki for fact finding today on 2nd March 2009. Mr. Joseph Francis the National Director Center for Legal Aid Assistance & Settlement (CLAAS) and Chief Coordinator Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan (SLMP) led the team. Reference: Two Christians Charged Under Blasphemy Law in Kasur, Punjab. July 6, 2009, 2:36 pm
4 – Pakistan’s human rights commission has reacted strongly after the country’s military ruler gave up plans to change the way in which a controversial blasphemy law is implemented. A number of Islamic organisations had threatened to hold demonstrations on Friday to protest against the proposed changes. But General Musharraf has said that he now plans to leave the laws completely unchanged. Bishop John Joseph killed himself in protest at the blasphemy laws. Reference: Pakistan’s blasphemy law U-turn Wednesday, 17 May, 2000
5 – Faisalabad (AsiaNews) – Bishop John Joseph, who committed suicide in 1998 to protest the blasphemy law, was recalled today in a mass in the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul in Faisalabad. Mgr Andrew Francis of Multan and Mgr Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad participated in the celebration, together with dozens of priests. In his homily, the bishop of Multan described Mgr Joseph as a “perennial voice of ecumenical and inter-faith dialogue”, who “preached the words of the Gospel with all his life”. Reference: Mgr John Joseph, blasphemy martyr, remembered by Qaiser Felix 05/06/2006 17:59 http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=6099 – Analysis: Pakistan’s Christian minority Monday, 29 October, 2001
6 – “As it was the unanimous demand of the Ulema, Mashaikh and the people, therefore, I have decided to do away with the procedural change in registration of FIR under the blasphemy law” (General Musharraf, Dawn 17.5.2000). How was public opinion determined? No one asked me! Is the reference to ulema and mashaikh to the self-proclaimed ones or men and women of Islamic learning? And did populism prevail over Islam? Why was no attempt made to enter into a debate, or at least a learned Islamic discourse? What was the role of the two ministers (religious affairs and law) who are primarily concerned with this issue? One does not recollect any valuable contribution from these two sources. Reference: NEED TO CHECK MISUSE OF BLASPHEMY LAW (28 May 2000) EDITOR’S NOTE: An article entitled “Need to Check Misuse of Blasphemy Law” by Qazi Faez Isa, was published in DAWN, Karachi, on Sunday, May 28, 2000
7 – The blasphemy laws were legislated and subsequently made more strict to ensure protection to the minorities. But some recent incidents have shown that even the Muslims were victimized under the present blasphemy law on the complaint of other fellow Muslims. The most recent example is provided by gory murder of Yusuf Kizab in the Kot Lakhpat Jail by an activist of the banned Sipahe-i-Sahaba. Yusuf had been sentenced to death sentence under the blasphemy laws. The worst example was the suicide of Father John Joseph some four years ago. On the eve of May 6, 1998 Dr Joseph, the Bishop of Faisalabad, committed suicide in front of the Sessions Court, Sahiwal to protest against the death sentence of a Christian Ayub Masih, pronounced by the court under the blasphemy law. Reference: The Impact of The Blasphemy Law by Mohammad Shehzad Issue No.4, September 2002 Copyright © The DAWN Group of Newspapers
8 – The barbaric murder of Jagdeesh Kumar, accused of blasphemy by some of his workmates at a garment factory in Karachi, brings out in sharp focus once again the exposed and vulnerable situation of non-Muslims in a Pakistan still wedded to the legacy of General Zia-ul-Haq. When the police finally intervened, the body of the 22-year-old victim had been mutilated and disfigured beyond recognition: among other things the eyes had been gouged out. The reports published indicate that he was a quiet man, from a poverty-stricken Hindu family belonging to some obscure village in the Sindh desert. People with such a depressed and vulnerable background come to factories to seek out a miserable living, not to engage in religious controversies. In the days and weeks ahead, we will learn that some petty personal quarrel or irrational hatred of a Hindu was the real reason for his murder. Reference: Blasphemy and persecution by Ishtiaq Ahmed Saturday, April 26, 2008
HRCP Annual Report – State of Human Rights in 2008
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
… It is the will of the people of Pakistan to establish an order … wherein shall be guaranteed fundamental rights, including equality of status, of opportunity and before law, social, economic and political justice, and freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship and association, subject to law and public morality.
Constitution of Pakistan
Preamble
Subject to law, public order and morality (a) every citizen shall have the right to profess, practise and propagate his religion; and (b) every religious denomination and every sect thereof shall have the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions.
Article 20
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 1
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 18
No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have a religion or belief of his choice. No one shall be subject to discrimination by any state, institution, group of persons, or person on the grounds of religion or other belief.
Reserved seats for minorities in parliament
The system of reserved seats for minorities and women introduced by President Musharraf in 2002 failed to fulfil the required objective of giving a political voice to minorities. The minorities’ representatives in the assemblies usually followed the line of the party that got them elected and not the interest of their communities. In early February, the World Minorities’ Alliance Convener, Mr. J. Salik, said the current system did not allow any minority person to contest elections independently on the minorities’ seat. He had challenged that process in the Supreme Court in 2002 but to date no hearing had been set. (N, Feb 6) A minority representative said: “When the Hasba Bill was approved in the NWFP, two persons elected by the MMA on reserved seats also voted for it. This instance showed that representatives of religious minorities elected on reserved seats were not free to pursue private agendas”. (DT, Feb 24)
Freedom of Religion
Ahmadis
As in previous years, the spread of hatred against the Ahmadis continued. At least six Ahmadis were murdered because of their faith during 2008.
An anchorperson of a popular TV channel held a prime-hour discussion commemorating the 1974 amendment to the Constitution declaring Ahmadis as “not Muslims”. The programme ended with a verdict by a participating mufti, of an extremist school, that the Ahmadis deserved to be murdered for deviating from the view of the finality of the prophethood of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). Neither the TV channel nor the anchorperson was chastised by the government for the virulent broadcast. Following the TV discussion, three Ahmadis were shot dead in early September – Dr. Abdul Mannan Siddiqui in Mirpurkhas, Seth Yusuf, a Nawabshah trader, and Sheikh Saeed at his pharmacy in Karachi. (D, Sep 21)
In Lahore in late May the International Khatm-e-Nabuwwat Movement (IKNM) announced a moot to be held at the Aiwan-e-Iqbal. IKMN Ameer MPA Maulana Ilyas Chinoti added the moot would mark a hundred years of successfully countering Qadiyaniat. (N, May 23)
In Faisalabad in early June, a mob of 300 college students barged into the rooms of Ahmadi students, beat them up and threw their belongings out of their rooms. The boarders also stole valuables from the Ahmadi students. The Punjab Medical College (PMC) through a notification rusticated 23 Ahmadi students on the report of the disciplinary committee. It was alleged that they were preaching and distributing Ahmadi literature. (DT, Sep 9) The students suffered harassment and interruption in their studies for months before they were allowed to resume their studies. In Shabqadar, Charsadda district, local clerics refused to lead the funeral prayers for a man believed to be an Ahmadi. The local clerics issued a fatwa (decree) that the deceased had become an Ahmadi and, therefore, no one would lead his funeral prayers. (DT, Sep 23)
Christians
The Christian community was discriminated against and the marginalisation of an already poor and disenfranchised community continued with the State offering virtually no protection. In early January, dozens of Christians held a protest outside the Lahore Press Club against the occupation of their homes in Bakar Mandi by influential people with the support of the government. The protesters said they had been living on the government property since pre-partition time but now they were being forced out. They said that the residents were very poor and had no means to buy houses; they had no shelter and had been left with no option but
to commit suicide along with their children. (N, Jan 7)
In late February, the Christian residents of Chananpura, Bakar Mandi, claimed that they were under siege by “land grabbers” who continued to harass and threaten them despite an ongoing civil lawsuit to decide ownership of the disputed land. The residents claimed that armed men, acting on behalf of the alleged land-grabbers, stripped and beat one of their young men, Faqirah Masih. They also hurled threats at him of bulldozers demolishing their prepartition homes. (D, Feb 23)
In Lahore, two minority councillors were injured during a scuffle in a meeting of the Lahore district council when they had attempted to move a resolution against a blast that damaged a church and also draw attention to the Freedom of thought, conscience and religion 7 7
illegal occupation of the Church of Christ in Garden Town by land grabbers. (D, Mar 17)
In late May, Christians protested against the Defence Housing Society, Lahore, for desecration and bulldozing of the graves in a Christian graveyard situated on Walton Road. The Christians alleged that they were being stopped from burying their dead in the graveyard. In June, 20 minority members of the Christian community, in Peshawar, were kidnapped and beaten up at a charity dinner for the members. The attackers, who came in land cruisers and pick-up trucks, attacked the Christians who were in the middle of their prayers. The attackers threatened them of similar attacks in the future if the “Christian community did not mend its ways”. (D, Jun 22)
Hindus
The Hindus of the scheduled class were neglected and ignored in every walk of life. At a conference at the Lahore Press Club, the Haray Rama Foundation and Guru Gorakh Naath Sewa Mandal director protested that there was no lower caste Hindu or other caste MPA or MNA representing the non-Muslims in Punjab. He stated that the lower caste was given no representation in the 10 national assembly and 23 provincial
assembly seats. (N, Jan 5) In Hyderabad, the low caste Hindus staged a demonstration outside the press club protesting discrimination towards them by successive governments. They said that the lower caste constituted 95 percent of the Hindu population; the 5 percent upper caste Hindus became MPAs and MNAs and patronised only their own class. (D, Oct 26)
Sikhs
The Sikhs had no representation in parliament and could not hope to have their issues taken up. In Lahore, Dr. Swaran Singh of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara stated Sikhs in the country (about 12,000 in
number) faced social and political problems because of a lack of direct access to the government. While Christians and Hindus had representations in the government, Sikhs had none. Many Sikh youths were deprived of quality higher education because there was no scholarship quota in the Higher Education Commission. Further, the poor Sikhs did not receive financial relief from the government. Christian and Hindu widows received Rs 5, 000 per month but the Sikh widows were deprived. (DT, May 3)
Blasphemy laws and their victims
In Karachi, a Hindu factory worker, Jagdeesh Kumar, was killed outside his workplace by a mob, which comprised of many of his colleagues. He was allegedly accused of blasphemy. The law enforcement agencies did nothing to save the young man. (D, Apr 26, May 11) In early May, Dr Robin, of Hafizabad, who had lived and served in that town for thirty years was booked under Section 295- C of the Pakistan Penal Code. The doctor was charged with blasphemy when he joked with a patient about the latter’s unruly beard. After incitement by a local Imam, hundreds of residents marched to Dr. Robin’s residence threatening to kill him and his family. While the mob encircled Dr. Robin’s house, law enforcers stood by and watched the whole episode silently. A Christian welfare organisation rescued the doctor and Jagdeesh Kumar: Done to death by his co-workers. State 7 8 ate of Human Rights in 2008 his family from likely death. Dr. Robin was put in jail and the uprooted Robin family had to go into hiding to escape the anger of religious extremists.
Demolition of places of worship
In Lahore, members of the Christian community protested against the demolition of a church in Garden Town, desecration of the holy Bible and illegally occupation of the land. The Church of Christ was constructed in 1963 and had been a place of worship since then. (DT, Jan 25). In protest, Sunday prayers were offered on the road in front of the demolished church. The participants said the police and d i s t r i c t administration had remained silent spectators despite the desecration. (D, Feb 15)
Recommendations
1. The blasphemy law was promulgated in 1985 and in 1990 the punishment under this law, which sought topenalise irreverence towards the Holy Quran and insulting the Holy Prophet (PBUH), was life imprisonment. In1992, the government introduced death penalty for a person guilty of blasphemy. Immediate abolition of ‘blasphemy’laws is needed as these provisions are often used against non-Muslims as well as Muslims to settle personal scores.
2. School curriculum has to be sensitised toward non-Muslim Pakistanis so that children feel safe, secure and equal.
3. The Ahmadis have been denied the benefit of the joint electorate system which was revived in 2002. The discrimination should be ended.
4. The Commission on Minorities should be made functional by reinforcing its independent status and providing it with the necessary resources, human as well as financial.Christians demand end to occupation of a church by the land mafia.
“UNQUOTE”
Christians in Danger – Pakistan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3xOf_Fki94
Muslim threats to Christians rise in Pakistan
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/04/muslim-threats-to-christians-on-rise-in-pakistan/
In this photo taken on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009, a man carries a child out of a house after it was attacked by a mob in Gojra, Pakistan. Non-Muslims make up less than 5 percent of Pakistan’s 175 million people. They are especially vulnerable to anti-blasphemy laws that carry the death penalty for derogatory remarks or any other action against Islam, the Quran or the Prophet Muhammad. Minority Rights Group International, a watchdog organization, lists Pakistan seventh on the list of 10 most dangerous countries for minorities, after Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Myanmar and Congo. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)
LAHORE, Pakistan | Christians in Pakistan are feeling increasingly insecure after several violent attacks by Muslim extremists in the past two months.
In one case, eight Christians were burned to death by a Muslim mob after reports that the Muslim holy book, the Koran, had been desecrated.
Growing Talibanization of the country and a blasphemy law in place for two decades make non-Muslims, especially Christians, easy targets for discrimination and attacks, Christian and human rights activists say.
“The attacks on Christians seem to be symptomatic of a well-organized campaign launched by extremist elements against the Christian community all over central Punjab since early this year,” Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Chairwoman Asma Jehangir said at a press conference last month.
The situation has become so serious that Pope Benedict XVI and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari discussed it during a meeting Thursday at the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, the Associated Press reported.
The Vatican said the two stressed “the need to overcome all forms of discrimination based on religious affiliation, with the aim of promoting respect for the rights of all.”
Most of the attacks on Christians’ houses and churches followed claims of desecration of the Koran. Subsequent investigations generally proved the claims to be false.
Pakistani Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian himself, said that no Christian would even think of desecrating the Koran. Some elements wanted to create an atmosphere of disharmony, but the government would not allow anybody to play with the lives and properties of the Christians, he said.
On June 30, a mob attacked Christians’ houses in the village of Bahmani Wala in Kasur district of Punjab province, destroying more than 50 houses after looting.
On July 30, eight people were burned alive in the village of Gojra, also in Punjab, after a purported incident of desecration of the Koran in the nearby village of Korian Wala. Churches were attacked and copies of the Bible and hymn books were burned in both villages. In Korian Wala alone, more than 50 houses of Christians were ransacked.
On Sept. 11, a church in a village in Punjab’s Sialkot district was burned after claims that a 20-year-old Christian youth had desecrated the Koran. On Sept. 15, a day after his arrest, Robert Masih was found dead in his jail cell. Police reported it as a suicide, but Mr. Masih’s family claims he was killed. Joseph Francis, who runs an organization providing legal assistance to Christians, said he saw marks of torture on Mr. Masih’s body.
Christians account for about 4 percent of the 170 million population of Pakistan, which was carved out of India as a state for Muslims at the time of independence from Britain in 1947.
Since then, successive civilian and military rulers have progressively strengthened the Islamic character of the country by introducing Shariah law. A controversial blasphemy law introduced in 1986 also has widened the gap between the minority Christians and majority Muslims.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom listed Pakistan as a “country of particular concern” in 2006, citing forced conversions of Christians to Islam and a rise in hate crimes against religious minorities.
All the recent attacks targeting Christians, activist groups claimed, were provoked by hate speeches made by Muslim clerics on loudspeakers from mosques.
“The rising intolerance and violence against Christians is a result of the Talibanization and promulgation of Shariah law in the country,” said Kanwal Feroze, a well-known journalist. “It is not a matter of blasphemy law, but shows a mind-set of the common man.”
When the blasphemy law was introduced during the rule of Gen. Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, the punishment was life imprisonment. It was changed to the death penalty by the Federal Shariah Court in 1992 when Nawaz Sharif was prime minister.
Since the inception of the blasphemy law, as many as 976 cases have been registered under it, of which 180 were against Christians. When a Christian is accused of blasphemy, he or she can be granted bail only by the top court in the province.
The step-by-step Islamization of Pakistan began in 1956, when the country’s name was changed from the Democratic Republic of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In 1973, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto changed the country’s constitution to declare Islam the religion of the state. Non-Muslims were barred from becoming president or the prime minister, and denied seats in the Senate.
Mr. Bhutto – father-in law of current President Asif Ali Zardari – also nationalized church-run schools and institutions. Some of them were denationalized later by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who led Pakistan from 1999 until 2008.
In 1979, Gen. Zia introduced several Islamic laws that discriminated against non-Muslims – strengthening fundamentalist organizations and sowing the early seeds for Talibanization.
Under the Evidence Act of the Islamic law, a Christian man’s witness is worth half that of a Muslim. Christian women would not be deemed as witnesses at all.
Muslim men can marry non-Muslim women but a Christian man cannot marry a Muslim woman. The constitutional provisions also welcome a Christian to embrace Islam, but when a Muslim converts to Christianity, the penalty is death.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has promised to review laws that could fuel hate for non-Muslim citizens after the recent attacks. A committee has been formed to look into the laws and make recommendations.
However, hard-line parties such as Jamaat-e-Islami and the banned militant organization Dawat-ul-Irshad already have warned of protests if the blasphemy law is rescinded. Even the mainstream Pakistan Muslim League-Q party of Mr. Musharraf has threatened to resist any change in the law.
Amnesty International Report 2010 – Pakistan 28 May 2010http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4c03a80cc.html
Christian minority member Fanish Masih, aged 19, was found dead on 15 September in Sialkot prison where he had been held in solitary confinement. Prison authorities claimed that he had committed suicide but his relatives reportedly noted bruises consistent with torture on his forehead, arms and legs. Three prison officials were suspended for negligence, but no criminal charges were brought against them.
Discrimination – religious minorities
Members of religious minorities suffered increasing abuses, including abduction, murder, intimidation, and harassment, as state officials failed to protect them and adequately prosecute perpetrators. The Taleban imposed jizia, a tax payable by non-Muslims living under Muslim rule, on Sikhs, Hindus and Christians, or in some cases expelled them outright. Sectarian violence between the Sunni and Shi’a communities increased in Kurram Agency as Sunni Taleban exerted their control.
At least 14 members of the Ahmadiyya community, including children, were arrested on charges of blasphemy which carries the mandatory death penalty. At least 11 Ahmadis and nine Christians were killed for their faith in separate incidents.
On 29 January, five Ahmadis, including one minor, were detained on spurious charges of blasphemy in Layyah district, Punjab Province, with no evidence or witnesses to support the charges against them. They were released on bail.
In Gojra, Punjab, over 1,000 people attacked the Christian quarter on 1 August, burning six people alive, including a seven-year-old child. Seventeen others were injured, one of whom died later. The attack was a response to rumours that Christians had torn pages of the Qur’an in neighbouring Korian. A judicial inquiry, ordered by the Punjab Chief Minister, submitted its findings to Punjab authorities in early September; they were not made public. Of 42 people arrested on charges stemming from the attack in Gojra, 35 were released on bail.
ap danish k clerck hazrat ko boht kam pay dy rhy hen.only 9000 pay he.4000 buses ka rent nikal k baqi 5000 bchta he jo family waly worker k liy km pay he.plz mehrbani frmaen and pay me izafa frmaya jay.me clerck ki family ka member hun.
MS.DHQ.Hospital Layyah issued an explaination letter no.PF/235/DHQ dated;09.01.12 to a christian charge nurse about absence from duty on 08.01.12.The said nurse is serving dylasis ward from 2pm to 8pm(evening duty).The ward remains closed on sunday.Attendence registered is kept in office of MS,which is also closed on sunday.Demand of attendece report on 08.01.12(sunday)is reflection of religious discriminnation of MS.DHQ.hospital Layyah.
Gulzar Masih registered FIR no.373/11 u.s.352/337 in PS Saddar Layyah on 06.12.11.Police did not arrest the accused persons.After two days later Police registered a false case against Gulzar Masih,and threatend him to withdraw his case.Rember that the accused are Muslims and Police is is supporting them on religious grounds.
Mr.Hamza Shahbaz Sharif arrived in Layyah on 09.02.12 and welcomed by thousands of people including christian and hindu minorities.Distt.administration of PMLN Layyah did not mentioned the minorities of Layyah.It shows that PLMN Layyah is ignoring the minorities.Leadership should take notice.
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