DELEGATION MEETS VICTIMS OF RECENT VIOLENCE IN THE PUNJAB

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, assured a Church of England delegation, led by the Bishop of Bradford, David James, on behalf of the Archbishop of Canterbury, that his government was fully committed to upholding the rights and equal status of all the country’s minorities.  He also highlighted the initiatives taken by the government to protect the rights of minorities in Pakistan, and the measures being taken to stop the misuse of the so-called blasphemy laws in the country which led to the recent fatal violence against Christian communities at Gojra in the Punjab. 

The PM expressed his government’s sympathy for the Christians of Gojra and his condemnation of the atrocities.  He said that the welfare of minorities is a priority for his government and all possible measures will be taken to protect their rights.

Bishop James comments, “Minorities are represented in the flag of Pakistan and their rights enshrined in the Constitution, so I was gratified to hear of the government’s efforts to embrace them as equal citizens.  But much more needs to happen locally and inter-faith dialogue can be of considerable help.”

The Prime Minister was speaking to a delegation invited by President Zardari following his meeting in London during October with the Archbishop of Canterbury, when Dr. Williams raised international concerns about the violence last August in Korian and Gojra when eight Christians died and 150 houses burnt down, and churches were attacked.  The PM also described his government’s swift response in supporting the victims of attacks which has included the complete rebuilding of all the homes that were destroyed. 

Prior to the meeting the seven-person delegation, which included two Imams from the British-Pakistani community had met with victims and survivors of the Gojra violence.  Almas Hameed, who is currently in hiding, described to the delegation the events that saw the deaths of his wife, two children, father and brother in law.  On his behalf, Bishop David James expressed his concerns to the Prime Minister, and later to the Governor of Punjab, Salmaan Taseer, about the delays in bringing the perpetrators to justice. 

Almas Hameed’s life has been threatened because he is a key prosecution witness.  As he sat with his bereaved sister and Muslim friends he talked of his desire for swift judicial resolution to the case, not just for the sake of his family and the Christian community, but also for innocent Muslims currently under suspicion. 

The Prime Minister, Minster of the Interior and the Minister for Minorities all reiterated that Pakistan’s constitution guaranteed the rights of minorities as full and equal citizens.  They highlighted the initiatives taken by the government to protect the rights of minorities in Pakistan, and the measures being taken to stop the misuse of the so-called blasphemy laws in the country:

-  The government had elevated the position of the Minister for Minorities from being a junior minister to being a member of the Cabinet.  They appointed a Christian, Shahbaz Bhatti, the Director of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, who for over 25 years had been an activist for minority rights, religious liberty and the protection of persecuted people.

-  Through the Ministry for Minorities the government were bringing forward legislation to stop the misuse and abuse of Pakistan’s penal code which has been used to bring accusations of blasphemy.

-  The government had recently announced a 5% employment quota for minorities in the government and federal agencies.  (Minorities make up approx. 3% of the population.)

-  The government has now doubled the development fund for minorities.

-  Beginning in 2009, August 11 is now commemorated as Minorities Day to highlight the issues relating the minorities and to address their problems.

-  Through the Ministry for Minorities, Inter-faith Harmony committees were being introduced into every district of Pakistan at the grassroots level to promote good relations between followers of different faiths.

The delegation also met with: the Minister of the Interior, Rehman Malik; the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan; the Ministers for Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti; the Minister for Human Rights, Sayed Mumtaz Alam Gillani; and the Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology, Dr. Khalid Masud.  They also met with Christian and Muslim leaders in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gojra and Lahore.

The mixed Christian-Muslim delegation was able to show a unity of concerns from members of both faiths, with Imam Chishti and Dr Hussein able to speak to the Christian minority of the shared experience of being in a minority within their countries.  They were also able to speak as Muslim to Muslim about their own dismay at the anti-Christian violence, and to share their passionate belief that such acts of violence seen in Gojra and elsewhere were abhorrent to Islam and against the teachings of the Qur’an.  On the contrary they spoke with loving concern of the Muslim’s duty to uphold the welfare of all people – particularly the ‘people of the book’ (Jews and Christians). 

Imam Chishti comments, ‘The instigators of the violence are equally as culpable as the violent mobs that carried out the violence.  These people are abusing holy pulpits and preaching a hate-filled version of Islam that needs to be curbed.  Pakistan has laws to deal with the perpetrators, but enforcement of the law remains a key issue.’  Dr. Hussain was able to tell students at the University of Punjab that ‘we need to acknowledge the significant contribution that Pakistani Christians have made to their country’.

The delegation also noted the warmth of their reception by Muslim leaders, and the efforts made by the Muslim community to support their displaced Christian neighbours in the immediate wake of the Gojra attacks. 

Notes

1: Members of the delegation:

• Imam Irfan Chishti MBE is a part time Chaplain for the Prison Service, an Imam in Rochdale, and chair of the Rochdale Interfaith Partnership.

• The Rev’d. Tim Dean is Director of the World Media Trust, Executive Secretary of the independent diplomacy group First Step Forum, and a parish priest in Godalming.

• Dr. Musharraf Hussain al-Azhari OBE is Chair of the ‘Christian-Muslim Forum’, Director and Chief Imam of the ‘Karimia Institute’, and a senior trustee of ‘Muslim Hands’.

• The Rt. Rev’d. David James is Bishop of Bradford, chair of the ‘Presence and Engagement Task Group’ which supports the Church’s ministry in multi-faith areas, and chair of the ‘Pakistan Focus Group’.

• The Rev’d. Rana Youab Khan is the International Interfaith Dialogues Assistant for the Anglican Consultative Council and responsible for the management of international dialogues of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

• Canon Yaqub Masih is the Secretary General of the UK Asian Christian Fellowship, chair of Pakistan Christian Concern, and a Lay Canon of Wakefield Cathedral.

• The Rt. Rev’d. Tony Robinson is Bishop of Pontefract in Wakefield Diocese which is formally linked to the Pakistan Diocese of Faisalabad. 

2: Dates of the visit

The delegation visited Pakistan from Monday 7th to Saturday 12th December.  Though hosted by the Pakistan government, they facilitated every request from the delegation as to who they met and where they met.

3: The ‘blasphemy’ laws

There is no law against ‘blasphemy’ as such.  There are four provisions in the Pakistan Penal Code (articles 295, 295A, 295B and 295C) which are known as ‘Offenses Relating to Religion’, and which have been popularly referred to as the ‘blasphemy laws’.  (The penal code was introduced by the British before the establishment of Pakistan.)

The offences are:

• Injuring or defiling a place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class.

• Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting or its religion or religious beliefs.

• Defiling (etc.) a copy of the Holy Qur’an.

• Use of a derogatory remark (etc.) in respect of the Holy Prophet.

The punishment range from two years in prison, or a fine, or both – through to the death penalty.

4: Gojra & Korian

The violence, first in Korian village and then in the nearby town of Gojra began on July 30th 2009.  Gojra in the Punjab is 50 miles from Faisalabad, with no previous history of tensions between the 495,000 Muslims and the 35,000 Christians.  The violence was provoked by a public announcement which claimed that some Christians had desecrated pages of the Qur’an.

5: Other meetings and Events

The delegation also met with Dr. Khaled Masud, Chair of the influential Council of Islamic Ideology which is responsible for vetting legislation.  They addressed a meeting of over 100 lawyers of the Lahore High Court Bar Association; spoke to students and staff at both the Centre for Islamic Studies of the University of Punjab, and at a large Madrassa in Bhera.