Human Rights Watch (HRW) has asked the Pakistan's government to introduce legislation in the parliament to repeal laws discriminating against religious minorities, including the penal statute that makes capital punishment mandatory for "blasphemy."
On June 1, 2010, HRW urged the government of the Punjab province, controlled by the PML-N, to investigate and prosecute campaigns of intimidation, threat, and violence against the Ahmadiyya community by Islamist groups such as the Sunni Tehrik, Tehreek-e-Tahafaz-e-Naomoos-e-Risalat, Khatm-e-Nabuwat and other groups associated with the Taliban. The anti-Ahmadiyya campaign has intensified in the past year, exemplified by the government allowing groups to place banners seeking the death of "Qadianis" on the main thoroughfares of Lahore.
Ali Dayan Hasan, senior South Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch talked to TFT about the recent violent attacks on the Ahmadi community in Lahore.
Where does responsibility for the current attack on the Ahmadi community lie?
The mosque attacks and the subsequent raid on the hospital, amid rising sectarian violence, underscore the vulnerability of the Ahmadi community. The government's failure to address religious persecution by Islamist groups effectively enables such atrocities.
We were shocked to hear Mr Zaeem Qadri, advisor to Punjab Chief Minister admitting in an interview on Dunya TV (May 30) that the provincial government had failed to remove the threatening banners from the city's streets. This was to prevent an "adverse reaction against the government". On the same day, a Taliban statement "congratulated" Pakistanis for the attacks, calling people from the Ahmadiyya and Shia communities "the enemies of Islam and common people".
What do you think of Punjab government's position on such atrocities against minorities?
The Punjab government is either in denial about threats to Ahmadis and other minorities or is following a policy of willful discrimination. The Punjab government's law enforcement authorities need to dispense with traditional prejudices and proactively protect religious communities like the Ahmadis, who now are in clear and serious danger from both the Taliban and sectarian militant groups historically supported by the state.
The independent, non-governmental Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and Ahmadi community leaders told HRW that they had repeatedly brought these threats to the notice of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the provincial government, and the police controlled by the provincial authorities, and that they had asked for enhanced security for Ahmadiyya mosques given their vulnerability to attack. However, HRW research found that the provincial government failed to act on the evidence or to ensure meaningful security to the mosques.
What should the Government do?
Ahmadis unfortunately become easy targets in times of religious and political insecurity. The Pakistani government has emboldened the extremists by failing to take action. It needs to repeal the laws used to persecute Ahmadis, and it must prosecute those responsible for anti-Ahmadi intimidation and violence. Under Pakistan's Blasphemy law, virtually any public act of worship or devotion by an Ahmadi can be treated as a criminal offence. Ahmadis could be sentenced to death for simply professing their faith. Pakistan's continued use of its blasphemy law against Ahamdis and other religious minorities is deplorable. As long as such laws remain on the books, Pakistan will remain a laboratory for abuse in the name of religion.
We have urged the government of Punjab province, controlled by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League ( Nawaz ) party, to investigate and prosecute as appropriate campaigns of intimidation, threats, and violence against the Ahmadiyya community by Islamist groups such as the Sunni Tehrik, Tehrik-e-Tahafaz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat, Khatm-e-Nabuwat and other groups acting under the Taliban's umbrella. Leaders of these groups have frequently threatened to kill Ahmadis and attack the mosques where the killings took place.
In a nutshell, what are the international human rights groups going to do about this situation?
HRW has urged the international governments and inter-governmental bodies to press the Pakistani government to:repeal the Blasphemy Law; prosecute those responsible for harassing, and planning and executing attacks against the Ahmadiyya and other minorities; and take steps to encourage religious tolerance within Pakistani society.
Ali Dayan Hasan is a senior researcher in the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch.
