• Members
  • Youth
  • Shop
  • Subscribe To SpeakOut
  • Contact Us

Refugees

Amnesty International Concerns with respect to Ahmadis and Christians in Pakistan

Violence against Ahmadis and Christians

The following information comes from recent reports of Amnesty International, which are listed at the end of this letter.

A growing influence of Islamist groups is linked to growing religious intolerance in Pakistani society which manifests itself in hate speech against members of religious minorities, boycotts depriving them of their social and economic rights, threats and use of violence including killings of members of minorities and the laying of religiously motivated criminal charges, under which many members of religious minorities are detained as prisoners of conscience.

The most recent incident took place 28 October, 2001, when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a Christian church congregation in Bahawalpur, Punjab province. Approximately 17 Christians have died as a result.

Lack of State Protection

The protection of religious minorities in Pakistan has for some time been inadequate as militant Islamist groups have harassed and attacked them, mostly with impunity. Threats and use of violence against members of the minority communities by private persons or members of non-governmental groups are widely condoned by the state, and have led to a climate of fear for the minorities while perpetrators feel encouraged by the impunity with which they can abuse minority members.

Violent attacks on Christians by private individuals frequently occur with police failing to come to their aid to protect them. Several cases of attacks on Christians, some leading to their deaths have been reported since October 1999. In two cases at least, Amnesty International is not aware of any action being taken subsequently to hold the murderers to account.

In May 2000 eight Christian women from a village outside Lahore were raped and beaten by Muslims. The police refused to allow the village elders to register the complaint. A Christian group managed to get the army involved and finally in November 2000 the police were prevailed upon to submit their report; the case was going to trial at the end of 2000. Observers said Muslim supporters of the defendants cajoled the victims to drop the case, and a local Christian community leader who supported the victims throughout was beaten up by unknown people in November 2000. It can be assumed that without the pressure from the media and human rights groups, the gang-rape would not have been pursued by police; social inequality, religious and gender bias would have contributed to the crime and the victims being ignored by the state.

Police have in a number of instances refused to protect members of minorities including Ahmadis and Christians under threat of violence who approached them for help. Fears of further violence has led families of minority members not daring to file complaints, witnesses not testifying and judges being afraid to convict those responsible for abuses.

Blasphemy Laws

A ready tool of discrimination and harassment against Ahmadis and Christians are the country's blasphemy laws which have been consistently used to harass, intimidate and detain members of the minorities or members of the majority religion who in some way interpret, teach or debate their religion in a non-orthodox manner; Usually the alleged blasphemer's motive is not taken into account. The blasphemy laws continue to be used under the present government to arbitrarily detain members of the minorities. Charges against Ahmadis and Christians appear to have been brought solely because of their membership in these minority groups, i.e. because of their conscientiously held beliefs.

On 12 May 2000, two Christian brothers, Rasheed Masih and Saleem Masih were each sentenced to 35 years' imprisonment and fine on blasphemy charges. They were accused of making derogatory remarks against the prophet Mohammad to a street vendor. Their trial concluded in less than a month and, according to the men's lawyers, the prosecution relied solely on verbal testimony of the complainant. Their appeal is pending in the High Court.

Other Forms of Abuse

Other forms of abuse of the rights of minorities grounded in religious discrimination have included the arbitrary denial of social and economic rights and the rights to preach, practice and propagate minority beliefs. Such abuses are often instigated or reinforced by clerics and clothed in the form of a fatwa or religious opinions which their congregations unquestioningly follow and which the state has consistently ignored. Christians are subject to a wide range of harassment and humiliation partly on account of their low social status, compounded by disregard for their religious beliefs.

Amnesty International has received dozens of reports of destruction and desecration of places of worship of Ahmadis and Christians.

Militant Islamist groups are increasingly active as vigilantes, as self-appointed guardians of public morality, leading violent mobs instigated by them, who are known on several occasions to have attacked anyone wearing western style of clothes or voicing views considered influenced by "the West" or espousing a secular agenda. This trend toward "Talibanization" of Pakistan has led to a great increase in religious intolerance.

Sources: