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Pakistan’s minorities
BY IRFAN HUSAIN

7 June 2007

FOR years, Pakistan’s non-Muslims have lived under the lengthening shadow of
intolerance and persecution. Liberal critics of the Hudood Laws and the Blasphemy
Law, both pieces of legislation being used to target women and the minorities, are
told not to embarrass Pakistan by publicly attacking these laws.

But love for one’s country comes in different forms. At one extreme is the American
patriot who pronounced: “My country, right or wrong!” At the other is the saying:
“Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.”

I personally tend towards the latter view. When those ruling the country say or do
something I disagree with, I do not feel I am being unpatriotic by pointing it out.
Indeed, I agree completely with the sentiment expressed in this wise observation: “A
patriot is somebody who will defend the state against the government of the day.”

Occasionally, I am proud to be a Pakistani. Far more frequently, the words and

actions of our rulers and our public figures are a source of shame. But while the
impact of most official decisions and actions is fleeting, the continuing disgrace of
our nation’s treatment of its minorities is a permanent blot on our collective
reputation and conscience. While I understand why our religious extremists behave
the way they do, the failure of civil society to force a change in laws and attitudes is
far more deplorable.

The event that aroused my sense of indignation was the recent visit by a European
Union joint commission to Islamabad where they were, in effect, told by the
Pakistani team that all was well with our minorities. Those representing us must be
totally shameless, for they said without an iota of remorse that our Blasphemy Laws
had been around for a hundred years. This is a blatant lie, as they were inflicted on
us by Zia ul Haq just over 20 years ago.

Our team went on to ask the EU not to ask the Pakistan government to repeal this
infamous piece of legislation as this might make the public think we were being
forced into changing the law under Western pressure. Since the government often
does the right thing only under foreign pressure, there is every reason for the EU to
continue pushing.

For those who think I am over-stating my case, here are some random examples of
the horrors inflicted on our non-Muslim and Ahmadi citizens over the last year. These
are mostly drawn from the 14 th issue of a newsletter called Pakistan Concern that
focused on our minorities.
On April 1, the police in Toba Tek Singh arrested Salamat Masih and 11-year old
Daniel Masih, while warrants under the Blasphemy Laws were issued for the arrest of
three other members of the Christian family. The charge? That they forcibly removed
the ‘Islamic sticker’ from the pocket of Faisal Gulzar, a Muslim boy, and trampled on
it. A mob later attacked the Christian Colony where Ratan, a disabled boy, was badly
injured. But according to Father Bonnie Mendes, the whole incident started with a
fight among the boys in which their parents got involved.

On March 23, Amanat Masih, a 50-year old Christian from Sheikhupura, was tortured
by a mob for allegedly burning some pages from the Holy Quran. He was later
arrested by the police under the Blasphemy Laws, and remains in jail. His wife,
Zohera Bibi, had saved fifty thousand rupees for their daughter’s wedding. This sum
was looted by the mob.

On April 8, Shaheen Masih, a 12-year old Christian girl was kidnapped by four
Muslim men and gang-raped over two days after which she was finally rescued by
the police. But although she was medically examined, the police refused to give the
report to her parents. The four men were arrested and a case was registered against
them, but they were later released. One of them was reported as saying to the
others: “Don’t hesitate to rape a Christian girl. Even if she dies, no one will get us.
Her poor parents cannot pursue us.” In Charsadda, a small town in the Frontier
province with an old, established Christian community, letters have recently been
slipped under the doors of Christian homes, warning the inhabitants to convert to
Islam or face death. So clearly, the Talibanisation of the Frontier does not
countenance any non-Muslims in the areas it seeks to control.

Ahmadis, too, bear the brunt of Pakistan’s rising tide of Islamic extremism.
According to the latest Ahmadiya community report, 79 Ahmadis have been killed
between 1984 and 2005 simply for their belief. The report goes on to say: “Religious
extremists remained free to congregate in numbers in Rabwah and indulge in
abusive rhetoric, but Ahmadis were not allowed to hold a single open-air community
event in their own town.”

According to the Pakistan Hindu Council, Hindus in Sindh are insecure because of the
rising number of kidnappings and murders. An estimated 1.5 million Hindus live in
Pakistan, and according to Nisar Khurro of the Pakistan People’s Party, more and
more of them are being kidnapped for ransom. On 2 March, the BBC reported the
disappearance of Garish Kumar from Umerkot. His dismembered body was found
near a madressah, and the police suspected an extreme Islamic group of the crime.
His father, a local trader, says nobody in authority is interested in taking up the case
because the victim was a Hindu.

The Minority Rights Group’s annual report informs us that Pakistan has risen by eight
places to occupy eighth position on the MRG’s ranking of countries where minorities
are at risk. In fact, this view is widely reflected in the international media where the
plight of Pakistan’s hapless minorities gets hugely adverse coverage. But apart from
stout denial, this government has done little to confront the issue, and give our
minorities a sense of security. All these random incidents I have cited here have
been reported in the media, and to the police. The fact that little or no action has
been taken is a reflection of the apathy in our society towards our minorities. And
clearly, it is further proof that Musharraf’s boast about his agenda of ‘enlightened
moderation’ is just hot air.
Only when a particularly gruesome story hits the foreign media is there any pretence
of official action. But as soon as the furore has died down, it is open season on non-
Muslims again.

While Islam directs its followers to protect non-Muslims, in Pakistan these injunctions
are largely ignored by the clergy and their fanatical followers. The state looks the
other way when minorities are persecuted because they are seen as powerless. Until
those at the top show a sense of outrage, non-Muslims will continue to be treated as
second-class citizens, and worse.

Irfan Husain is an eminent Pakistani writer based in London. He can be reached at

irfan.husain@gmail.com

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