Pakistan: Religious cannibalism

Nothing puts the miserable situation of minorities in Pakistan better than these words of PPP Minority Wing leader Napoleon Qayyum: “Minorities in Pakistan have got no benefit except for permission to mark August 11 as National Minority Day.” The event is relatively new in our history as the slain Clement Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian and the first ever federal minister for Minorities Affairs who was assassinated for criticising the blasphemy law, with his efforts to give minorities their rights, declared this day to be marked as National Minority Day in 2009 during the PPP government. Since then, this day is commemorated at the state and public level by organising seminars and events to remind the nation that all minorities are an integral part of this country. Though the rights of all minorities are ideologically and philosophically preserved in the constitution, their history as Pakistanis has an entirely different story to tell. All minorities in this country are facing either direct threats in the form of persecution by active militant organisations, or indirect threats in the form of social and political ostracism. The blind persecution of Hazaras, Ahmedis and Shias over the decades has qualified to be termed as genocide. The other, relatively less highlighted, form of violence is forced conversions, especially of Hindu women, which often goes unnoticed and uncommented on by the state. One does not need to look too far back to collect evidence. The recent killings of Sikh traders in Peshawar, the mob attack on Ahmedis in Gujranwala, Punjab and kidnappings of Hindus from Umerkot, Sindh bear witness to the unobstructed terror they are on the receiving end of. The culprits of the Joseph Colony Lahore incident, the Gojra incident, Abbas Town attack and several others are yet to be caught, let alone punished.

Politicians’ pledges to protect the right of minorities according to the vision of Jinnah and similar such statements have lost meaning and turned Jinnah’s vision into a laughing stock. Last week a National Assembly committee was formed apparently to probe into the different attacks on minorities. These mere pledges and committees give little help to the aggrieved families who have lost their loved ones. The fact that some of these attacks were carried out not by extremist militants but vigilante mobs gives this issue a different dimension. The state has effectively failed to turn the tide of fanaticism and intolerance towards its minorities. Not only do we have to eliminate the hatemongering militant outfits, we also need to create an environment of tolerance. Starting from the curriculum being taught at educational institutions, which carries a narrow specific version of what amounts to being a Pakistani, the state needs to effectively implement a policy that ensures a society that is tolerant of all faiths and denominations.