Pakistani Minorities Live In Fear and Threat After Lahore Terrorist Attack

By Mohammad S.Solanki
Monday,May 31,2010

 (Photo : 2010 Pakistani Hindu women's celebrating Holi festival)

ISLAMABAD : Pakistani minorities, including Sikhs and Hindus, are living in constant fear ever since the attack Friday by Taliban guerrillas at two mosques of the minority Ahmadi sect in which at least 90 people were killed.

Pakistani Minorities Council (PMC) chairman Sardar Bhishan Singh said the incident had exposed the fact that minorities were not being fully protected by the government.

'The enemies of Pakistan exploit such security lapses and attack minorities without fear of repercussions... the government should realise how important it is to treat all citizens equally,' Daily Times quoted him as saying.

He said Pakistan's Sikh community strongly condemned the terror attacks and demanded that the government provide proper security at several temples and churches in Lahore.

In Friday's attack, Taliban guerrillas wearing suicide vests fired indiscriminately and lobbed grenades as they stormed two mosques of the Ahmadi sect and took worshipers hostage. The gunmen were neutralised by the security forces after a fierce gunbattle.

Pakistan Hindu Welfare Council president Manohar Chand said no citizen of Pakistan from a minority community felt secure after Friday's attacks.

He added that police check posts should be set up around minorities' worship places in the country.

'Words cannot make up for the lives lost on Friday... people of all faiths are praying that the souls of those who lost their lives may rest in peace. The situation is getting worse day by day and the government cannot afford any more incidents of negligence on its part with regards to the security arrangements for minorities in the country,' he said.

Pakistan’s Minorities Hindus,Sikhs,Christians and Ahmadi Worry As 18th Amendment to the Constitution ignores Blasphemy Law

By Muhammad S.Solanki
Monday,May 03,2010

Islamabad : The 18th Amendment to the Pakistani constitution, landmark legislation which aims to strengthen democracy and prevent the military from taking power in Pakistan, has avoided the issue of the controversial blasphemy law that has come to haunt Pakistan’s minorities such as Christians, Ahmadi Muslims and Hindus over the years, according to a Pakistani daily.

“The legacy of [former dictator] Zia-Ul-Haq continues to haunt the minorities in Pakistan as the 18th Amendment failed to do away with the controversial Blasphemy Law,” a report in The News daily noted.

According to the report, Ramesh Kumar, Patron of the Pakistan Hindu Council, said that he had met with top government officials, including Senator Raza Rabbani, the Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms, seeking amendments to the blasphemy law but failed to get any response.

“The law has greatly been misused against all the minority communities living in the country. There is a dire need to amend the law. I also made some suggestions regarding the selection procedure of the parliamentarians representing the minorities. However, this request, like its former, was also ignored,” Kumar said.

Representing the Christian community, Michael Javed, Secretary General of All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, said that the government officials had made promises on several occasions, but that “it seems that the state has forgotten the outrageous Gojra incident in which seven people [Christians] were burnt alive and more than 40 houses were torched.”

Noting that Pakistan’s blasphemy law is misused frequently against non-Muslims, he added: “Due to the Blasphemy Law, hundreds of innocent people have been killed and several others are languishing in jails on the pretext of false cases.”

“The Blasphemy Law has become a dead noose for us,” said Sardar Ramesh, of the Sikh community, a community which has no representation either in the government or in the opposition, the report added.

Ahmadi Muslims, who are dismissed as simply Ahmadis or Qadianis in Pakistan, have suffered most due to the blasphemy law of Pakistan.

A report on the “State of Human Rights in 2009” by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan shows the bleak picture of the minorities, noting that last year, a total of 41 complaints regarding Blasphemy Law were registered by the police, of which some 37 Ahmadi Muslims were booked under the law.

Source: The News, Pakistan, April 22, 2010

PAKISTAN: MINORITIES' RIGHTS TO BE PROTECTED

Source http://www.namnewsnetwork.org
March,05,2010

ISLAMABAD, March 5 (NNN-APP) -- Pakistan Acting President Farooq H. Naek said on Thursday that all-out efforts would be made to protect minorities’ rights in the country.

Addressing the participants of Hindu Community at a function arranged by Ministry of Minorities at the auditorium of National Council of the Arts to celebrate Hindu festival, ‘Holi’ he said all people living in Pakistan have equal rights, whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims.

“It is the prime responsibility of every Pakistani to safeguard the basic rights of the minorities as they are playing key role in the progress, development and prosperity of the country”, he said.

He said that soon after the creation of Pakistan, Quaid Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had stated that all people living in the country are equal.

Naek said that PPP-led government is taking all possible steps for the prosperity and progress of the minorities.

He said the government has allocated five per cent quota for minorities in government jobs, while funds have also been increased for their welfare. He said it has also been decided to celebrate minorities festivals at the government level.

The government, he said has declared Aug 11 as minorities’ day in the country. He said that all religions teach love, peace tolerance and brotherhood. He said Holi is a festival of colour, peace, love and friendship.

The Acting President said that terrorists and extremists have no religion or country and are enemies of humanity.

He said some elements in the country are trying to destabilize the country and democracy adding, “they will not succeed in their nefarious designs.”

He said the country is faced with challenges of coping terrorism and poverty. He urged the masses to help the government in its efforts for tackling these problems.

He said there are two senators from the Hindu community while the same number of Hindus are ministers. Similarly, in Sindh government there is one advisor from the Hindu community. “All these belong to Pakistan Peoples Party”.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti said that the PPP government is committed for the social uplift of minorities. -- NNN-APP