When cricket star Imran Khan rose to power last month after securing the popular vote in Pakistan's elections, minorities responded with caution rather than jubilation, uncertain as to how he would approach the country's sensitive minorities question.
For Christians, Pakistan is a harsh and even deadly place to live and the source of a lot of their misery is the loathed blasphemy laws. Weeks after Khan took office, concerns remain that his government will not stem the violence of the last decade.
This week, Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Khan urging him to take steps to address Pakistan's human rights situation, including upholding freedom of religion and amending the blasphemy law.
'In the past two years, Pakistan has witnessed an increase in blasphemy-related violence while the government continued to encourage discriminatory prosecutions and other forms of discrimination against vulnerable groups by failing to repeal discriminatory laws and using religious rhetoric, inciting hatred against minorities,' it said.
'Human Rights Watch urges the Pakistani government to amend the blasphemy law, as a first step towards its repeal.'
Khan's promises this week to push for blasphemy laws at international levels will have done nothing to allay the fears of minorities.
This week, he said his government would raise the blasphemy issue at next month's United Nations General Assembly and he is courting the support of other Muslim countries.
'Our government will raise the matter in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and ask the Muslim countries to come up with a collective policy that could then be brought up at international forums,' Khan said.
He then drew parallels with European countries that threaten prison sentences for Holocaust denial, according to Dawn news.
His comments came amid protests in Pakistan over Dutch nationalist politician Geert Wilders' plans to hold a caricature competition of the Prophet Mohammed. Wilders has since cancelled the competition, saying he did not want to put others at risk of violence.
Nasir Saeed, director of CLAAS-UK, an organization that supports Pakistani Christians accused of blasphemy, said it was right to cancel the cartoon competition and that no country should allow any competition which hurts the religious feelings of people. However, he added that Muslims in Pakistan should stop hurting the religious feelings of people who belong to different religions.
'The misuse of the blasphemy law should also be stopped in Pakistan and the government must take concrete steps in this regard,' he said.
'Those who misuse the blasphemy to settle their personal scores and grudges should be brought to the justice.'
Last month, there were two separate attacks on Christians, one of which was fatal. Christian husband and father Vicky Masih had been preparing to celebrate his ninth wedding anniversary when he was shot dead. According to the British Pakistani Christian Association, police have been uncooperative.
In a separate incident, Alvin John and his family were forced to flee their home after a mob attacked when he refused to allow his daughter to be forcibly married to a Muslim man.
Kashif Anthony, a coordinator for the National Commission for Justice and Peace in Karachi, said the latest violence was 'a sign of prevailing intolerance against Christians' in Pakistan.
'It is a result of the hate-based curriculum taught in the educational institutions, hate speeches, and other unmonitored publications against Christians,' he said.
https://www.christiantoday.com/article/christians-still-fearful-in-imran-khans-pakistan/130333.htm
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