Lahore (AsiaNews) – An intercultural and inter-faith meeting, promoted and publicized by political parties and religious leaders, aimed at restoring the independence of Pakistan’s judiciary and emphasising “the responsibility of society to defend the civil and political rights” of its citizens. This sums up a national conference held in recent days in Lahore, while rallies were held in the rest of the country to express support for Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, president of the High Court arrested by order of President Musharraf on 9 March.
Organised by the national Justice and Peace Commission, the meeting gathered more than 180 political and human rights campaigners, social workers, journalists and lawyers, men and women from all religions. Deliberations were presided over by Mgr Joseph Coutts, bishop of Faisalabad.
At the conference launch, Peter Jacob, executive secretary of the Commission, said: “The meeting aims to bring together different political and social parties to identify ways and means to meet the challenges facing Pakistan.”
Javed Iqbal Moazam, General Secretary of Pakistan Peoples Party, said: “It is necessary to respond to the call to defend human rights. Pakistan is being ruled in colonial style so it is divided into two: one side has power and resources while the other is deprived of its rights and poor.” This state of affairs arises from “political disorder and it cannot be improved without a democratic political system. So I urge people to participate fully in the political process to ensure democracy in the country.”
Pervaiz Malik, Central Secretary of the Pakistan Muslim League, said: “Quaid-e-Azam, the founder of Pakistan, envisioned a democratic state where every citizen would be equal irrespective of colour, religion, creed and language but the current situation is contrary to his vision. Civil society should continue its struggle for democracy and human rights.”
At the end of the conference, all the participants signed a statement calling on the government to “fully implement the principles of the constitution, to guarantee the independence of the judiciary and thus to do justice to the rights and obligations of the people.” To do so, “Islamabad must free the political process from any internal, external, military or religious interference. Moreover, to this end, without further delay, all bans on the free gathering of people should be lifted; they must be allowed to express themselves without fear.”
