International Christian Concern 2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, #941 Washington, DC 20006 1-800-422-5441 ♦ icc@persecution.org
PETITION CALLING FOR THE IMMEDIATE REPEAL OF PAKISTAN’S “BLASPHEMY” LAWS His Excellency Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Prime Minister of Pakistan Prime Minister House Islamabad, Pakistan February 27, 2014 Dear Honorable Prime Minister Sharif, It is with great concern that we petition your government to immediately and completely repeal sections 295 - B & C and sections 298 - A, B & C of the Pakistan Penal Code. These laws, collectively known as “blasphemy” laws, have been used for more than two decades to actively and violently suppress the fundamental right to religious freedom guaranteed to all citizens of Pakistan under international obligations ratified by your government. According to media sources based in Islamabad, as many as 5,000 cases of blasphemy have been registered against individuals since 1986, the same year that Pakistan’s parliament under General Mohammed Zia-ul-Haq made the crime of blasphemy punishable by life imprisonment or death. According to data compiled by multiple nongovernmental organizations since then, a highly disproportionate number of these cases are filed against members of minority religious communities, especially those individuals belonging to the Ahmadi and Christian faiths. In 2010, Freedom House noted, “Although many other countries have laws against blasphemy, the situation in Pakistan is unique in its severity and particular effects on religious minorities.” Perhaps even more disturbing is the climate of violence which often surrounds accusations of blasphemy in Pakistan. According to Human Rights Watch, at least 52 individuals charged with blasphemy since 1986 have been murdered while awaiting trial. One example of this occurred in December of 2012 when a mob in Sindh Province reportedly stormed the premises of a police station, forcibly dragging an unidentified man accused of blasphemy from his prison cell before “burning him alive.” An even more recent example, and perhaps more alarming in its scale and intensity, was the attack on March 9th of last year by thousands of enraged Pakistani Muslims on a Christian neighborhood in Lahore known as Joseph Colony. The New York Times reported in a single day that thousands of enraged Muslim citizens had either damaged or destroyed 178 houses, 18 businesses, and two churches after a Christian member of the community was accused of blasphemy. This assault forced thousands of Christian Pakistanis to flee their homes and left the international community shocked at the seemingly unprecedented level of violence which can accompany accusations of blasphemy in Pakistan. Mr. Prime Minister, in light of these and many other incidents of intolerance grounded in sections 295 – B & C and sections 298 – A, B & C of the Pakistan Penal Code, we must respectfully ask that your government act immediately to repeal these disastrous laws. These sections of the penal code have provided a legal basis for unparalleled violence against religious minorities on a scale and in a manner unheard of in the rest of the modern world. Their complete repeal would be a tremendously significant step in the direction of creating a Pakistan where all citizens, regardless of their faith, can live in peace without fear of violence or discrimination. We cordially look forward to your response. Sincerely, International Christian Concern (and attached) CC: Secretary of State John Kerry Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Senator Bob Corker, Ranking Republican Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Congressman Ed Royce, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Congresswoman Elliot Engel, Ranking Democratic Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
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