FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Contact: Anne Johnson,
Communications
January 20,
2006
Director,
(202) 523-3240, ext. 27
Pakistan:
USCIRF letter to President Bush for
his meeting with Pakistan’s Prime
Minister
WASHINGTON
– The United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
wrote to President George W. Bush
urging him to raise in his January
24 meeting with Pakistan’s Prime
Minister Shaukat Aziz the need to
promote and protect religious
freedom and religious tolerance in
Pakistan. Since its inception, the
Commission has looked closely at the
conditions of religious freedom in
Pakistan and continues to recommend
to the Secretary of State that
Pakistan be named a “country of
particular concern” (CPC) for its
severe violations of religious
freedom. The State Department has
not yet designated Pakistan a CPC.
Sectarian and religiously-motivated
violence has been committed by Sunni
Muslim extremist groups against Shia
Muslims, Ahmadis, Hindus, and
Christians. Discriminatory
legislation has fostered an
atmosphere of religious intolerance
and eroded the social and legal
status of members of religious
minorities, particularly the Ahmadi
community. Blasphemy allegations,
which are often false, result in the
lengthy detention of, and sometimes
violence against, Christians,
Hindus, Ahmadis, and members of
other religious minorities, as well
as Muslims on account of their
religious beliefs. After Pakistan’s
President General Pervez Musharraf
took power in a military coup in
1999, he announced early in his
tenure that he would address some of
these serious problems. His
government has failed to do so,
however, and has been criticized
inside and outside Pakistan for
capitulating to, and thus
emboldening, militant groups that
advocate policies opposed to the
protection of religious freedom.
The Commission recognizes the
importance of the U.S.-Pakistan
relationship and the strong ties
between our two countries.
Nevertheless, concerns about
religious freedom and other human
rights are a critical element of
U.S. interests in Pakistan and
should be prominent on the bilateral
agenda. We hope that President Bush
will discuss with Prime Minister
Shaukat Aziz the United States’
concern about severe violations of
religious freedom in Pakistan, the
persistent problem of sectarian
violence, and the need to promote
democratic institutions and genuine
religious tolerance among all
religious communities.
The text of the letter to President
Bush follows:
Dear President Bush:
On behalf of the U.S. Commission on
International Religious Freedom, I
urge you to raise in your meeting
next week with Pakistan’s Prime
Minister, Mr. Shaukat Aziz, the need
to promote and protect religious
freedom and religious tolerance in
Pakistan.
Since its inception, the Commission
has looked closely at the conditions
of religious freedom in Pakistan.
The country’s president, General
Pervez Musharraf, who took power in
a military coup in October 1999,
announced early in his tenure that
his government would address some of
these serious problems.
Unfortunately, his government has
failed to live up to many of the
expectations that it had raised.
Moreover, the current government has
been criticized inside and outside
Pakistan for capitulating to, and
thus emboldening, militant groups
that advocate policies that are
opposed to the protection of
religious freedom for all Pakistanis
and the equal citizenship of members
of all religious communities.
Belated efforts to curb extremism
through reform of Pakistan’s
thousands of Islamic religious
schools continue to have little
effect. Many of these schools
provide ongoing ideological training
and motivation to those who take
part in violence targeting religious
minorities in Pakistan and abroad.
Sectarian and religiously-motivated
violence, much of it committed
against Shia Muslims by Sunni
militants, is chronic in Pakistan.
Ahmadis, Hindus, and Christians have
also been targeted by Sunni
extremist groups. In the past few
years, there have also been fatal
attacks on churches and other
Christian institutions. Last
November, a mob of over 1,500
persons, incited by local Muslim
clerics on the basis of a false
accusation of blasphemy against a
local Christian man, set fire to and
destroyed several churches, schools,
and homes of Christian families in
the town of Sangla Hill. Political
leaders did condemn the violence and
the blasphemy charge was later
dropped, but the incident is only
one example of the violence that
minority religious communities
experience in Pakistan and the fear
with which they must routinely live.
Discriminatory legislation has
fostered an atmosphere of religious
intolerance and eroded the social
and legal status of members of
religious minorities, particularly
the Ahmadi community. Ahmadis, who
number three-four million in
Pakistan, are prevented by law from
engaging in the full practice of
their faith. Officially barred from
“posing” as Muslims, it is illegal
for Ahmadis to preach in public, to
call their places of worship
“mosques,” or to produce, publish,
and disseminate their religious
materials. Ahmadis have been
arrested and imprisoned for terms of
up to three years for such acts.
They are also subject to violence;
last October, eight Ahmadis were
killed and 20 injured when gunmen
fired on Ahmadi worshippers during
Friday prayers.
Blasphemy allegations, which are
often false, result in the lengthy
detention of, and sometimes violence
against, Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis,
and members of other religious
minorities, as well as Muslims on
account of their religious beliefs.
Prescribed penalties for blasphemy
include death and life imprisonment,
after proceedings which frequently
lack due process.
Just last week, 50 members of the
“Divine Love” Mehdi Foundation
International community were
arrested on blasphemy charges and
are reportedly being subject to
physical abuse while in detention.
Some of those accused under the
blasphemy laws have been attacked
and even killed by vigilantes,
including while in police custody;
those who escape official punishment
or vigilante attack are often forced
to flee the country. Although
amended in October 2004 with the aim
of reducing the more maliciously
applied charges, the procedural
changes have not had a significant
affect on the way the blasphemy laws
are exploited in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s
Hudood Ordinances provide for harsh
punishments, such as amputation and
death by stoning, for violations of
Islamic law. Although these extreme
corporal punishments have not been
carried out in practice due to high
evidentiary standards, lesser
punishments such as jail terms or
fines have been imposed. Rape
victims run a high risk of being
charged with adultery, for which
death by stoning remains a possible
sentence. The UN Committee Against
Torture, as well as the UN Special
Rapporteur on Torture, have stated
that stoning and amputation can
constitute inhuman or degrading
treatment under international human
rights standards and treaties.
The Commission is also concerned
about the country’s public school
curriculum, which, according to the
State Department, includes
“derogatory remarks against minority
religions, particularly Hindus and
Jews,” and the more general teaching
that religious intolerance is
acceptable. Moreover, there
continue to be reports of incidents
of persons being forcibly converted
to Islam, including the case in
December of last year in which three
Hindu girls were reportedly
kidnapped and pressed to change
their religion.
In
view of the severe religious freedom
violations that exist in Pakistan,
the Commission continues to
recommend that Pakistan be
designated a “country of particular
concern,” or CPC under the 1998
International Religious Freedom
Act. We encourage you to urge Mr.
Aziz to make serious and sustained
efforts to promote and protect the
religious freedom of all the
citizens of Pakistan, including:
- to rescind laws that effectively
criminalize the public practice of
the Ahmadi faith in violation of the
right to freedom of religion
guaranteed in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the
International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights;
-
to implement procedural
changes to the blasphemy laws that
will significantly and genuinely
reduce their abuse; and
- to take effective steps to
prevent sectarian violence and
punish its perpetrators, including
disarming militant groups and any
religious schools that provide
weapons and other training.
Mr. President, we
recognize the importance of the
U.S.-Pakistan relationship and the
strong ties between our two
countries. Nevertheless, concerns
about religious freedom and other
human rights are a critical element
of U.S. interests in Pakistan and
should be prominent on the bilateral
agenda. We hope that Prime Minister
Shaukat Aziz’s visit to Washington
provides an occasion for a serious
discussion of severe violations of
religious freedom in Pakistan, the
persistent problem of sectarian
violence, and the need to promote
democratic institutions and genuine
religious tolerance among all
religious communities.
Respectfully,
Michael Cromartie
Chair
The U.S. Commission on International
Religious Freedom was created by the
International Religious Freedom Act
of 1998 to monitor the status of
freedom of thought, conscience, and
religion or belief abroad, as
defined in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and related
international instruments, and to
give independent policy
recommendations to the President,
Secretary of State, and Congress.
Visit our Web site at www.uscirf.gov
Michael Cromartie, Chair Felice D.
Gaer, Vice Chair Nina Shea, Vice
Chair
Khaled Abou El Fadl Preeta D.
Bansal Archbishop Charles J. Chaput
Richard D. Land Elizabeth H.
Prodromou
Bishop Ricardo Ramirez Ambassador
John V. Hanford III,
Ex-Officio Joseph R.
Crapa,
Executive Director
800 NORTH CAPITOL STREET, NW SUITE
790
WASHINGTON, DC 20002 202-523-3240
202-523-5020 (FAX)
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