Article 295 of the Constitution of Pakistan describes that “Whoever destroys, damages or defiles any place of worship, or any object held sacred by any class of persons with the intention of thereby insulting the religion of any class of persons or with the knowledge that any class of persons is likely to consider such destruction damage or defilement as an insult to their religion, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.”
We want to raise the voice for minorities’ rights but we don’t know what will be our fate in this deep state. The founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, wanted Pakistan to be a moderate secular state. On 11 August 1947, M A Jinnah addressed the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. He said, “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the state.”
The Constitution of Pakistan provides for fundamental rights. It is clearly written in Article 25(1) that all citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law.
We belong to the Christian community of Pakistan – and we make up around 1.5 percent of the population of our beloved homeland. When she was prime minister, Benazir Bhutto tried to change the blasphemy law because it was being used to terrorise religious minorities, but she couldn’t succeed. She was able to make the existing law more moderate but those changes were reversed by the government of Nawaz Sharif later on.
We have no confidence in PML(N)’s government in Punjab. CM Punjab has snatched our fundamental constitutional rights. He has violated Article 295, by bulldozing Church-owned site and demolishing homes for poor, elderly and homeless people, a school for poor girls and a church in Garhi Shahu district of Lahore, the capital city of the Punjab province earlier this month in January.
We respect the constitution and laws of the land and we believe that the parliament is supreme of all institutions. It was another heart breaking incident when the ruling party PML-N’s speaker in Punjab Assembly turned off minority member’s mike while he wanted to speak to House to ask the sitting parliamentarians whether CM Punjab had committed blasphemy by demolishing sacred places. Justice should be equal for all citizens. But here in Pakistan, opposite is true, there is only selective justice. Asia Bibi, a Christian woman convicted of blasphemy, received a death sentence while eyeing SC for justice.
Shaheed Salmaan Taseer stood for minorities’ rights to review court’s verdict in the case of Asia Bibi, but he was martyred by a religious fanatic and it was a black day in the history of Pakistan when people in northern Punjab, especially in Rawalpindi, celebrated martyrdom of great leader of Pakistan. Pakistan’s Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, the only Christian member of Pakistan’s cabinet, was also assassinated on 2 March 2011. Both leaders never committed blasphemy but were killed brutally.
If Asia Bibi can be convicted of blasphemy, why not Shahbaz Sharif? We believe that nobody is above the law and Shahbaz Sharif has committed blasphemy by violating Article 295. We appeal secular forces in Punjab Assembly to remove him as CM through a no-confidence motion in without any delay.
Three weeks have passed but no suo motu action has been taken by the CJP against Shahbaz Sharif. This is yet another example of selective justice under the lordship of CJP. Are we not Pakistanis? Is this our fate? Asia Bibi is charged with blasphemy but the real blasphemers go scot-free with full impunity. Are courts only for political cases? Christian community had also participated in the movement for restoration of judiciary but CJP seems to be mindful of others than the Constitution of Pakistan. We want disqualification of Punjab CM over his blasphemous act. There must be a trial against him over the breach of blasphemy laws of Pakistan.
We want fair and equal justice.
AMIN KHOKHAR, NOSHEE PERVEZ
Pakistan Masih League