pakistan and minorities rights

Pakistan is a nation that has  highest blasphemy /  lack of respect - related prosecutions and cases of communal aggression

 The recent incident

1 where a mob went on the rampage in Jaranwala, Faisalabad, setting fire to churches, attacking the homes of the Christian community and vandalising the local assistant commissioner’s office 

2 it means it underscores the country’s failure in upholding its fundamental duty of safeguarding its minorities and marginalised groups. 

3 reason - The violence followed allegations of blasphemy, sparked by the alleged desecration /  अपवित्रीकरण  of pages from the Koran near a house where two Christian brothers lived.

4 Amid rumours, the situation worsened - 

with the involvement of members from the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), who shored up tensions by issuing public statements. 

The mob directed their aggression towards the home of the accused Christian brothers, which served as a catalyst / परिवर्तन लाने वाला व्‍यक्ति या वस्‍तु  for a series of violent occurrences.

5 Christian leaders condemned 

police inertia / not helped, asserting that officers stood inactive even as families sought assistance. 

Senior administrative and police officials intervened and were engaged in discussions with the protest leaders.

 Rangers were deployed and additional police personnel were dispatched, according to reports.

first information report was registered against the two Christian suspects 

Amidst / middle  the chaos, a first information report was registered against the two Christian suspects. 

and after this incident 

घटना के नतीजों की निंदा की गई, जिसमें इस बात पर ध्यान केंद्रित किया गया कि स्थिति को प्रबंधित करने में पुलिस द्वारा भेदभावपूर्ण आचरण किया गया था।

 एक वरिष्ठ पुलिस अधिकारी को विशेष कर्तव्य पर पुनः नियुक्त किया गया - यह निर्णय उन प्रदर्शनकारी व्यक्तियों की मांगों को संबोधित करने के प्रयास में किया गया जो उनके स्थानांतरण की मांग कर रहे थे।

This incident marks the second occurrence

 of an event of this nature in recent times. Just earlier, an English teacher in Balochistan was murdered following allegations of blasphemy. 

In February 2022, the brutal murder of priest William Siraj in Peshawar spread fear and outrage among Pakistan’s minority communities.

Resurgence of terror

reason against Rising aggression against Pakistan’s minorities 

1 Rising aggression against Pakistan’s minorities has been compounded by the revival of terrorist activities, 

2 Taliban’s capture of power  in Kabul in 2021

• a resurgence notably magnified by the Taliban’s capture of power  in Kabul in 2021. 

•  Terrorist attacks in Pakistan have grown more severe over time, especially after the decision by the Pakistani Taliban’s (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan-TTP) to temporarily terminate a ceasefire with Islamabad in 2021. 

Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP)

is an alliance of militant networks formed in 2007 to unify opposition against the Pakistani military.

• With the TTP’s confidence boosted by the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, new waves of violence against minority groups in Pakistan have emerged.

pakistan and minorities population 

There was a period when minorities comprised approximately 15% of the population in major cities.

 However, their representation has dwindled to less than 4% now. Among these minorities, Christians constitute a faction in this predominantly Sunni Muslim nation. 

accusations of blasphemy  

1 On multiple occasions, accusations of blasphemy have resulted in both court judgments and violence targeting minority groups, including Christians. 

2 In September 2020, a Lahore court handed Asif Pervaiz, a young Christian, the death penalty for supposedly sending ‘text messages’ that had ‘blasphemous content.’ 

Pervaiz had already spent almost seven years in custody facing charges of blasphemy. 

There have been numerous instances where minorities such as the Ahmadis, Shias, and Christians have been accused of blasphemy.

3  The case of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman, is widely known.

failure of Pakistani courts 

Numerous reports have highlighted the systematic failure of Pakistani courts to adequately safeguard and deliver justice to victims.

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom report 

 1 In relation to the blasphemy regulations, a United States Commission on International Religious Freedom report, for instance, 

2 showed that the enforcement of these blasphemy laws positioned Pakistan as the foremost perpetrator of blasphemy-related prosecutions and communal aggression in the world.

3 Sections 295 and 298 of Pakistan’s Penal Code 

 The report further observed that Sections 295 and 298 of Pakistan’s Penal Code classify actions and utterances / अभिव्‍यक्ति, कथन, उद्‌गार  that

•  insult the religion or 
• desecrate the Koran,
•  the Prophet,
•  places of worship, 
• or religious symbols as criminal offences. 

These ambiguous clauses are often  accuse 

the Ahmadis, Shia Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, and individuals holding beliefs differing from the predominant Sunni interpretation of Islam.

According to Siegfried O. Wolf, Director of Research at the South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF)

 religious minorities, including Christians, encounter deep discrimination in various Muslim-majority nations. 

However, no other country subjects Christians to such systematic and institutional persecution and victimisation as Pakistan, he said.

A silence

1 सत्ता के गलियारों में एक स्पष्ट चुप्पी व्याप्त हो गई है, जबकि ईशनिंदा कानूनों को व्यक्तिगत हिसाब-किताब निपटाने, संपत्ति जब्त करने और अल्पसंख्यक गुटों को डराने-धमकाने के साधन के रूप में प्रदर्शित किया गया है।

 2 इस पृष्ठभूमि के बीच, क्या कोई वास्तव में जरनवाला घटना जैसी घटनाओं के बार-बार सामने आने पर आश्चर्य का दिखावा कर सकता है? 

3 धर्म की आड़ में हिंसा का प्रयोग किसी भी क्षेत्र में अक्षम्य है। 

4 फिर भी, पाकिस्तान के भीतर, ईशनिंदा कानूनों में हेरफेर निहित एजेंडा के लिए एक ढाल के रूप में विकसित हुआ है, जैसा कि  डॉन ने  अपने संपादकीय में लिखा है।

5 लोकतांत्रिक राज्य के रूप में पाकिस्तान के लिए अग्निपरीक्षा  

किसी भी मामले में, एक लोकतांत्रिक राज्य के रूप में पाकिस्तान के लिए अग्निपरीक्षा अपने सबसे छोटे अल्पसंख्यकों के अधिकारों की रक्षा करने की क्षमता में निहित है।

 देश एक महत्वपूर्ण क्षण का सामना कर रहा है, जिसमें एक गहरे राज्य, एक जटिल नागरिक समाज और एक प्रेटोरियन राज्य मशीनरी की उपस्थिति से उत्पन्न चुनौतियों का सामना करते हुए अपनी नवेली लोकतांत्रिक संरचना को बनाए रखना है।

source the hindu