A lot of attention is being paid to the activities of Muslim extremism in Pakistan. The incident in which a Sri Lankan named Priyantha Kumara, who worked as the export general manager of a garment factory in Sialkot, was attacked and brutally burnt to death two years ago is an act of extremism that was strongly felt by foreign countries. Extremist groups had claimed that Pakistan set him on fire on charges of blasphemy.
Imran Khan, who was the prime minister at that time, expressed his sorrow over this murder. However, the extremism on display in Sialkot failed to stop it. It is no secret that Pakistan has been oppressing the minorities living in the country for many years. And foreign reports show that no leader who ruled Pakistan has been able to eliminate this extremism. Islamic fundamentalist and extremist violence, as well as brutal killings, continue to be depicted. The absence of a straightforward program at the state level to prevent them has become a matter of criticism in the developed world.
Priyantha’s murder is just one incident
Priyantha’s murder is only one of them. It reflects the violence against minorities in Pakistan. Now that Pakistan’s general election is back on the scene, a comprehensive discussion is being created regarding these situations again.
The measures taken to ensure the safety of the nearly 3.5 per cent of minorities living in the country through the future rulers are now being noticed. The global community is questioning the commitment of the leaders who are about to take over the government for the protection of human rights even more strongly than the people of Pakistan.
Ten requests from minorities before the critical day
February 8 will become a significant day for Pakistan. That is because Pakistan’s general election is scheduled for that day. Accordingly, the opinion of the minority community, including Christians and Hindus, will indeed become a unique situation here.
Religious minorities representing non-governmental organisations in Pakistan have also presented a ten-point statement on their concerns. It is clear that the need to ensure the safety and freedom of the minority has been strongly emphasized.
It has also taken steps to request all the political parties facing the election to take steps to immediately curb the threats and pressures on the rights of religious minorities and to confirm the right of minority representatives to live freely.
Ali Jinnah and the Founding of Pakistan
The first point emphasises that steps should be taken to promote the rights of minorities in Pakistan’s political process and governance system. Religious minorities representing non-governmental organisations in Pakistan have pointed out that Muhammad Ali Jinnah had envisioned Pakistan as a multi-ethnic country when he created it. They have also emphasized that the concept of an Islamic state was not the aim of the leaders who created Pakistan.
It has also emphasized that the judgement given by the former Chief Justice of Pakistan, Tasaduk Hussain Jilani, on June 19, 2014, regarding minority rights should be implemented. The verdict came in the wake of the bombing of a church in Peshawar and threats to religious minorities. The reason for such compulsion is the fact that the rulers of Pakistan have failed to implement the order even though the Supreme Court has ordered to ensure the safety of non-Muslim nations during the trial.
The fourth thing that has been emphasized is that the parliamentary seats proposed to be reserved for non-Muslims should be allowed to be appointed appropriately and counterproductively. A system of reserving ten seats for minorities out of the 342 seats in the National Assembly is an active program in Pakistan. They have requested that minorities should have the opportunity to make those appointments more effectively.
It has also been demanded that non-Muslim candidates should be given winnable candidatures in open elections for general seats of their respective parties. Non-Muslim candidates can contest general seats. But this has shown that it is not fair to force Muslims to not vote for them.
This also shows that the Election Commission and political parties should kerb the issue of hate speech against non-Muslim candidates. In such a situation, minorities do not actively participate in the country’s elections. It has also been emphasized that special measures should be made for the protection and development of non-Muslim citizens of Pakistan, and the government should primarily focus on this and pass relevant laws.
Establishing a unique ministry for minorities and establishing a national commission for minorities through a consultative process is another proposal presented under this. Discriminatory laws against international human rights treaties, protection of minorities, and their development religious minorities represented by non-governmental organisations in Pakistan have urged political parties to pay special attention to major minority issues such as rape, kidnapping and forced marriages and to protect globally recognised human rights laws and implement them properly. It is seen in the proposal submitted to political parties.
Rights and freedom of girl child
Another thing they have mainly emphasized is that they should take immediate measures to prevent the situation of abducting Christian and Hindu girls and forcefully converting them to Islam and marrying them. It has been submitted as the final proposal that all the religious minorities should also own the land owned by the Muslims for churches and temples and churches.
The above facts are enough to understand the genuine attitude of the government towards the minority communities in Pakistan. Those requests have to be made on behalf of the minorities because there has never been any protection for the minorities in Pakistan. Despite constitutional provisions guaranteeing equal rights for all citizens, religious minority communities, including Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Shias, and Ahmadis, have to face oppressed living conditions.
Thus, the minorities have jointly presented a proposal to create an environment where they, too, can live in comfort, free from the hectic lives of the people. In doing so, they are asking for the lost life.
