Rising intolerance towards the religious minorities of Pakistan

Pakistan, an Islamic country, is situated in South Asia. With ever increasing religious intolerance against non-Muslim religious minorities, Pakistan remains one of the most glaring examples of religious intolerance in the world. It is an admitted fact that religious minorities, especially the Christian community, contributed a lot in the creation of Pakistan. In the fields of health and education the services of the Christian community have been meritorious. However, the forces which opposed the creation of Pakistan in 1947, are now targeting the minority communities. The government is fully aware of the situation but no steps are being taken to stop the discriminative attitude towards minorities.

In addition to severely limiting the freedom of speech and assembly, Blasphemy laws and other discriminatory laws, continue to hang like naked swords over the heads of non-Muslim people i.e. Christians, Hindus, Bheels, Maingwals, Sikhs, and the indigenous people. Section 295/C of the Pakistan Penal Code (blasphemy law) imposes the death penalty on anyone found to have "by words or visible representation or by an imputation or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiled the name of the Prophet Mohammad of Islam." Similarly, anybody accused of blasphemy against the Koran should be awarded life imprisonment under section 295/C of the Blasphemy Act. Before the introduction of this law, no case of blasphemy ever surfaced in Pakistan and no non-Muslim was ever accused of being a blasphemer. However, after the introduction of the blasphemy law in 1985, hundreds of non-Muslims, mostly Christians, have either been killed by Muslim fanatics, made to flee the country, or put in jails where they face inhumane treatment both at the hands of the Muslim Jail authorities and the Muslim inmates. Any voice raised for the repeal of the blasphemy laws is ruthlessly suppressed. On January 11, 2001, as many as 17 people were arrested for participating in a protest against the "Blasphemy Laws" in Karachi. Though three Christian detainees were released six days later, the incident nonetheless demonstrates the methods of punishment and intimidation the government uses to attack the freedom of expression and assembly, particularly in relation to religious issues.

In another case, two Christian young men from Jhang, Mr. Amjad and Mr. Asif, were sentenced to life imprisonment in March 2001, under section 295/B of the blasphemy law. In January of this year, eight Christian evangelists including one pastor Rev. Yousaf Masih from the city of Jacobabad were arrested because they were showing the Christian film "WHO IS JESUS" in a Christian locality of Jacobabad. Very recently, on April 1, 2001, Mr. Parvez Masih, a Christian teacher of a village in Sialkot district, has been falsely charged as a blasphemer. His Muslim enemy, due to a personal grudge, has implicated him under section 295/C of the Blasphemy Act. Mr. Parvez Masih has been booked and put in jail for a crime that he never committed, and penalty for the crime is death. The innocent Christian teacher was running a school in his village. A Muslim teacher also established his own school. But the school of Mr. Parvez Masih attracted more students due to his dedication as a teacher. The Muslim fellow with his grudge against the Christian teacher, ultimately implicated him in the blasphemy case. The poor and innocent man, just because of his Christian faith, is being persecuted in jail. His elderly parents and other members of his family are being targeted by the fanatic Muslims of the area. There are twenty other Christian families, which, since April 1st are living in a state of constant harassment.

Christians have definitely suffered under the blasphemy laws. In 1998, Mr. Ayub Masih, a Christian gentleman, was sentenced to death though he was quite innocent. Unable to get Ayub released, Bishop John Joseph, a widely respected non-violent activist for minority rights in Pakistan, committed hirakiri by shooting himself in the head. The fanatic Islamists don't show any leniency in cases of blasphemy though such cases mostly are ill-founded. In 1996 Mr. Justice Arif Iqbal Bhatti of the Lahore High court was shot dead by a Muslim fanatic because he had acquitted three Christian fellows from blasphemy charges.

Last year another Judge of the Lahore High Court Mr. Justice Nazir Akhtar became highly partial on the issue of blasphemy laws. He declared that anybody accused under blasphemy charges, should be instantly killed on the spot by Muslims as a religious obligation. He further remarked that there was no need of any legal proceedings for a blasphemer. These remarks of the judge were published in the national print media.

It is a height of injustice that there are scores of victims of the blasphemy laws who are being confined in jails. They have been in jails for the last several years, but no court is prepared to dispose off their cases. They are compelled to live under sub-human condition in jails. They suffer the severest kind of persecution. No judge is prepared to take on the trial of those prisoners. In several cases involving the misuse of the blasphemy laws, the accused, after untold suffering in jail, have been acquitted by the courts. Nevertheless, no action is ever taken against the Muslim accusers who were responsible for ruining the lives of the innocent accused who were falsely implicated under blasphemy charges. This encourages the abuse of the blasphemy laws to continue. Like the blasphemy laws, the Hudood Ordinances (The Koranic Laws) require strict adherence to Muslim practices and blatantly discriminate against non-Muslims in a court of law. Women have particularly suffered under these ordinances, as they are frequently and wrongfully charged for sexual misconduct such as adultery.Although most women tried under the ordinance are eventually acquitted, they must then endure the stigma of having been under suspicion. The Koranic Laws (Hudood Ordinances) should not be imposed on non-Muslims, but the irony of the fact is that these laws are now stronger than ever.

Religious minorities are alienated and deprived of equal access to justice in other ways as well. For instance, if a Muslim kills a non-Muslim, the perpetrator may compensate the victim's family monetarily. If a non-Muslim kills a Muslim, the perpetrator faces prison or the death penalty. The Federal Sharia court (FSC) ensures that all legislative acts and judicial pronouncements including those of the Supreme Court are compatible with Islamic laws. The structure of Sharia courts is evidence that the government wants to impose a Taliban Style theocratic rule in Pakistan. No Christian lawyer is allowed to appear in the Federal Shariat Court though this court hears cases of non-Muslim people.

Another area of institutionalized discrimination relates to the electoral system. Pakistan is the only country in the world where the system of Separate Electorates was imposed in 1985, against the will of the minorities. Under this undemocratic system, people cannot vote outside of their religious affiliations. Thus, non-Muslims citizens of this Islamic State are severely isenfranchised. The separate electorate system has always been denounced as a scheme of religious apartheid that promotes intolerance and serves to divide and rule. In the recently held local body elections under the devolution plan the minorities boycotted the polls overwhelmingly because they were conducted on the basis of separate electorates. The present military administration, especially General Musharaf, gave assurance for improving the situation of minority rights, but owing to vested interests the recent local body elections, under the devolution plan, were held on the separate electorates basis.

There have also been shocking cases of rape and murder of Christian women. On their way home from working at a factory eight Christian girls were gang raped at gunpoint by Muslim men in May, 2000. In 1998, four Muslim men raped a seven year old girl named Nagina. In February 2001, another Christian minor girl (a school student) named Naira was abducted by an influential Muslim fellow. The culprit is still at large and the girl has not been recovered because the Muslim Police are favoring the Muslim abductor. Also, in March 2001, a Christian girl named Farhat Javed from Summandri, Dist. Faisalabad, was abducted by Muslim influential people just one day before her marriage. When a married Christian or Hindu women is abducted, she is forced to change her religion. If under coercion she does so, her previous marriage under Islamic law becomes null and void. Nobody seems to care about what will become of children born in the previous wedlock. Many families, because of this forcible conversion to Islam, have been
ruined.

Clearly, non-Muslim religious minorities in Pakistan, are de facto second class citizens. In addition to facing direct discrimination in laws such as the blasphemy law and the Koranic laws, the undemocratic separate Electorates, religious minorities face severe mistreatment from militant members of the Muslim majority. There is a widespread social hatred of non-Muslim people. They are discriminated severely in eating places and restaurants. Even in this 21st century, the barbershops in Pakistan bear notices which read "Non-Muslims are not provided services." This is all clearly noted by the government, but nobody is prepared to put an end to this kind of social hatred.

The militant wings of the Islamic religious political parties are also responsible for the rise of religious extremism in Pakistan. Inspired by the Taliban, they are bent on creating conflict. In a religious convention held in the first week of April at Peshawar under the title of "Deoband Conference," the Muslim fanatics vowed that they would convert Pakistan into a theocratic state like that of Afghanistan. About one million Muslims from all over the world attended this conference.

Another religious convention of the hard-line Islamists was held in mid April by Laskar-e-Tayyaba. The 200,000 participants of this conference near Lahore, vowed that they would make Pakistan a complete Muslim state. The Muslim diehards declared that they would promote the culture of beards like that of the Taliban of Afghanistan. Through a resolution, the Christian Mission Schools in Pakistan were condemned and it was declared that all such schools were responsible for killing the Islamic spirit of the Muslims. On the other hand plans were made at this convention to open more Muslim religious schools to prepare young boys (child soldiers) to wage "holy war" against the infidels. (All the non-Muslims are infidels according to Islamic teachings). For this purpose, fund raising is done extensively. These organizations are also funded by international Islamic groups.

In 1998, Mr. Nawaz Sharif, the then Prime Minister, through the 15^th constitutional Amendment, wanted to impose Sharia in the country. But it was CLF, which by lobbying with the senators, failed the move of the government and the sharia bill was blocked from passage in the senate of Pakistan. Had this bill been passed it would have reeked havoc on the non-Muslims citizens of Pakistan. All the successive governments, due to their vested interests, never bothered to improve the situation. It has rather gone from bad to worse. When General Pervez Musharaf seized power in October 1999, he declared that he would take measures to improve the conditions of the minority communities of Pakistan. He, in a Human Rights Convention in April 2000, proposed to improve the procedure for the registration of cases under the blasphemy laws. However, threatened by militant fanatic Islamists, he had to revert his decision.

In 1974, through a constitutional amendment, the government of Pakistan declared the Ahmedi community as non-Muslim minority. Therefore, the practice of the Ahmedi faith is severely restricted by law. Their religious freedom is restricted and they are facing many hardships. According to the constitution of Pakistan the President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan must be Muslims who through their oath have to declare their Muslim faith and preserve the Islamic ideology of the country.

Teaching of Islamiat (Islamic studies) is compulsory in schools and colleges for Muslim students. While students of other faiths are not required to study Islam, they are not provided with equal opportunities to study their own faiths. Muslim teachers often compel non-Muslim students to complete courses of Islamic Studies. Many Christian and Ahmedi students report that they face discrimination in applying to government educational institutions due to their religious affiliations. They are supposed to reflect their religion on their application forms.

The low caste Hindu community is a highly marginalized group. They, under economic compulsion, are involved in bonded labor. They are backward, and their human rights are not recognized. They are often labeled as agents of India and are thus looked down upon. The other religious minorities i.e. Sikhs, Bhais, Buddhists and indigenous groups also face hardships on religious grounds in Pakistan. The prevailing scenario foretells that if measures are not taken and the activities of the hard liners are not checked, Pakistan could turn into a religious apartheid state where non-Muslims will remain slaves of the Muslim majority. This is a question of life and death for the 14 million people of the minorities of Pakistan.

Christian Liberation Front Pakistan (CLF), which is a leading human rights organization of the minorities, has been struggling for the repeal of discriminatory laws. The mission of CLF, as is significant from its nomenclature, is to work for the liberation of the oppressed minorities from their social subjugation, religious discrimination and economic deprivation. CLF, since its inception in 1985, has been highlighting the issues of non-Muslim minorities at national and international level through research, lobbying, advocacy and awareness. We provide legal and other assistance to the victims of blasphemy and other discriminatory laws and to their families. Owing to their backwardness and marginalization, the religious minorities of Pakistan are voiceless people and CLF speaks for those who cannot speak for themselves.

(From Research & Advocacy Cell Christian Liberation Front Pakistan (CLF))

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