Persecution of Minorities
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Persecution of minorities isn't a new phenomenon in Pakistan. However, the sad part is that in stead of this being controlled, it has been on the increase with everyday passing. Christians have been victims of this persecution countless times. The recent incident of burning of their houses and killing of about half a dozen of them in Gojra is yet another sad addition to the history of mistreatment of minorities in Pakistan.
This persecution picked up momentum once Blasphemy Law was introduced during the rule of a military dictator Gen (Retired) Zia ul Haq. In order to extend his rule until his death, Zia ul Haq took the political support of the so called Islamist parties whose sole demand was and has been to date to impose the Shariah (Islamic Law) in the country. That's a separate question as none of these parties agree on as to which Shariah has to be imposed as each one of them interprets Shariah differently. Since the motives were limited to extension of his rule, Zia introduced certain laws under the name of Shariah to achieve the same on one hand and to please the pseudo Islamists on the other hand. There has been a demand of repeal of such like laws from the saner sections of the society but who cares about it. Even if these laws have to stay, none of these permits the citizens to take these laws into their own hands. It is here that all governments in the past have been keeping their eyes closed and not taking the culprits to task and the same seems to be the case this time with this government. It has been a common trend that every time an incident of this type takes place, the law enforcement agencies either don't reach the place of incident or on reaching choose to watch things happening in stead of taking corrective actions.
Islam grants such rights to the minorities that in certain cases they enjoy more rights than the Muslims. It's the duty of every government to provide peace and security to all of its citizens irrespective of their caste, creed, religion or sect. This is only possible if government sets a good example of dealing with such like situations with a just and iron hand. Unless, the persons responsible for inciting hatred, the murderers and looters are punished according to the law, such incidents will continue to occur and the frequency and intensity will also increase. All governments have been avoiding this responsibility for fear of agitations and demonstrations by pseudo Islamists in the name of Islam. I wish that this incident is made an example, deviating from the past.
This persecution picked up momentum once Blasphemy Law was introduced during the rule of a military dictator Gen (Retired) Zia ul Haq. In order to extend his rule until his death, Zia ul Haq took the political support of the so called Islamist parties whose sole demand was and has been to date to impose the Shariah (Islamic Law) in the country. That's a separate question as none of these parties agree on as to which Shariah has to be imposed as each one of them interprets Shariah differently. Since the motives were limited to extension of his rule, Zia introduced certain laws under the name of Shariah to achieve the same on one hand and to please the pseudo Islamists on the other hand. There has been a demand of repeal of such like laws from the saner sections of the society but who cares about it. Even if these laws have to stay, none of these permits the citizens to take these laws into their own hands. It is here that all governments in the past have been keeping their eyes closed and not taking the culprits to task and the same seems to be the case this time with this government. It has been a common trend that every time an incident of this type takes place, the law enforcement agencies either don't reach the place of incident or on reaching choose to watch things happening in stead of taking corrective actions.
Islam grants such rights to the minorities that in certain cases they enjoy more rights than the Muslims. It's the duty of every government to provide peace and security to all of its citizens irrespective of their caste, creed, religion or sect. This is only possible if government sets a good example of dealing with such like situations with a just and iron hand. Unless, the persons responsible for inciting hatred, the murderers and looters are punished according to the law, such incidents will continue to occur and the frequency and intensity will also increase. All governments have been avoiding this responsibility for fear of agitations and demonstrations by pseudo Islamists in the name of Islam. I wish that this incident is made an example, deviating from the past.
Labels: Human Rights, Rights of Minorities
posted @ 7:06 PM,
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