07/12/2004, 00.00
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NCJP's Monitor 2004 about human rights in Pakistan

Faisalabad (AsiaNews) - National Commission for Justice and Peace has released its eighth Human Rights Monitor "A report on the situation of religious minorities in Pakistan". The 105 pages Report covered all aspects of life of minorities in Pakistan.

Regarding Social Discrimination and Religious Intolerance the report said, that all governments, whether civilian or military, made promises and high claims of building religious tolerance and working towards non-discrimination in Pakistan. Regimes changed and decades passed but this goal remained an illusive dream. It was so because they failed to qualify their claims with concrete steps.

In the political arena restoration of joint electorate improved inter-community relation visibly but the incidence of intolerant commissions was painfully high and common.

Prisoners

The discriminatory attitude towards religious minorities finds its way in jails in Pakistan too. The jail laws provide for a remission of six month for Muslim prisoners in their sentence on learning Holy Quran by heart. Such facility is not available to non-Muslim prisoners except in Sindh province.

Labours

Addressing to the labour situation in Pakistan the report says that the labour rights condition in general, is bad in the country. Non-Muslim labourers, be they domestics, factory or farm workers, are an easy target of the malice of profit hungry employers. The human rights violation and unequal treatment as workers at times, is even worse in the government services than private sector. The existing safeguards lack implementation and there is need of more appropriate legislation. However it is not coincident that sectors having bonded labour, low wages and a lack of, or no social security also has a high concentration of minority labourers. It is so in the agriculture, brick kiln factories, sanitation work, carpet weaving and domestic servitude.

It is also reported that during 2003, 24 non-Muslims committed suicide. Hindus were 19 and 5 Christians (Men: 11, Women: 13).

Freedom of religion, expression and legal rights

Talking about Religious Freedom the report says that with Hudood Ordinances, Qisas and Diayat and blasphemy laws, etc. as part of the penal law and a thoroughly biased Constitution of Pakistan it is difficult to imagine religious freedom available to any citizen. Moreover the religious minorities face a number of problems regarding their Personal Laws that govern matters concerning marriage, divorce, guardianship and inheritance.

The Personal Laws for Muslims (and their interpretation) have an overriding effect on the Personal Laws of non-Muslims. A duly solemnized marriage under Christian or Hindu rites ceases to have effect or value if one declares oneself a Muslim. The marriages solemnized under Family Laws of non-Muslims stand dissolved with immediate effect, according to a decision by the Federal Shariat Court. The decision further said that the marriage of a non-Muslim woman stands dissolved after iddat (three menstrual cycles) if during this period her husband does not embrace Islam.

About hate speech in Pakistan report says, that Pakistan Television's serial Mohammad Bin Qasim, Shaheen and Tipu Sultan were clear misrepresentation of historical events to the disadvantage of non-Muslim minorities. And education policy has gone from bad to worse over the years. The syllabus does not base at democratic values and the behaviour of teachers is also discriminatory towards the non-Muslim students.

The religious minorities in particular suffered many injustices in the particular area falling under the administration of justice, report said.

Report says that several laws and regulations, especially the Articles and provisions of the Constitution of Pakistan discriminate against religious minorities. Like Islam is the state religion… Art. 2. The head of State has to be a Muslim… Art. 41 (2). The oath for Prime Minister in the third schedule of Art. 91 (3), suggests that this office is also reserved for a Muslim.

The decline of the political institutions affected the performance of the whole state machinery in the past 55 years. The role and scope of various departments in service delivery and safeguarding the rights of the people was reduced. Governance gave way to corruption and nepotism.

The Council of Islamic Ideology neither had representation of religious minorities nor it bothered to take the sentiments and interest of religious minorities into account in its recommendations. Yet the consequences of its actions and its expenditures are borne by the whole nation. A non-Muslim can neither be judge nor can appear as a lawyer and witness in the Federal Shariat Court.

Regarding blasphemy law, report says, no other law in the name of religion had more devastating and at massive scale effect in the recent years than the blasphemy laws. The blasphemy laws infringe right to free expression, cases have been registered against the editors, journalists and other staff and some newspapers had to face ban on such allegations.

Women

Pakistani society, which still has to recognize women as a full human being, is prone to multifaceted crimes against women. Women belonging to minorities despite their emancipative role unfortunately face a double jeopardy, leading to gender specific injustices. As an acknowledgment of the seriousness of the issue, the law in Pakistan has recently been amended to introduce the death penalty for gang rape. Its effectiveness and impact is yet to be seen, report said.

Recommendations

NCJP strongly recommended that:

-An independent and permanent commission for (religious and other) Minorities be instituted, with the powers of a Tribunal, which can entertain complaints and redress can be provided on urgent basis.

- It urges the government to constitute an impartial and independent Commission of Inquiry to study the situation of religious minorities and make recommendations to the government and people of Pakistan.

- The recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry for Women be implemented without delay.

- NCJP also strongly recommended that the government should invite UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Tolerance, to observe the state of affairs with regard to his mandate and the developments on his recommendations in UN document.

- The Constitution of Pakistan and statutory laws (articles and sections thereof) that discriminate against religious minorities and are source of communal disharmony must be repealed without delay.

- All sanitary workers be regularized in their jobs. Their wage structure be improved with the provision of regular medical care by the employing agencies.

- An affirmative action is recommended to include religious minorities in the services in order to ensure their rehabilitation in the national mainstream. NCJP demanded that Pakistan should take a clear stand that all religions are accepted and respected for envisaging a meaningful journey towards social development.

- Education should be compulsory and free for all. The syllabus for the children should be revised thoroughly with the purpose of removing material that promotes religious biases.

(QF)

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