Lord Alton has sent us a copy of his most recent question for a short debate in the House of Lords:
Pakistan: Religious
Violence
Read full debate
at:
Question for Short Debate
2 pm May 22nd 2013
2.15 pm
My Lords, the combination of inadequate religious
freedom protections and an entrenched climate of impunity has strengthened the
position of the more violent groups in Pakistani society, described by the noble
Lord, Lord Avebury, which have long been allowed to promote their own
interpretation of Islam, narrowing the space for difference. What begins as an
anti-minority sentiment can later divide the majority.
The noble Lords, Lord Avebury and Lord Desai, rightly
referenced the alarming growth of anti-Shia violence in Pakistan. In 2012, at
least 325 members of the Shia Muslim population were killed in targeted attacks.
In this context, counterextremism discussions with Pakistan are clearly
incomplete without measures intended to bolster the protection and promotion of
religious freedom or belief. Pursuant to the Written Answer that the Minister
gave me on 17 May, I would be keen to know when we will raise these questions
with the new Government.
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and anti-Ahmadi provisions
remain key concerns. The blasphemy laws lack any definition of terms and ignore
the question of intent. False accusations can be easily registered, as
evidential requirements are inadequate. Dozens were charged in 2012 and at least
16 people remain on death row for blasphemy, while another 20 have been given
life sentences. In 2010, Asia Bibi, a Christian from Punjab province, became the
first woman in Pakistan’s history to be sentenced to death for blasphemy, and
continues to languish in prison. Can the Minister tell us when we last raised
her case with the authorities in Pakistan? The resolution of last year’s case
against the Christian teenager Rimsha Masih was cited by Pakistan as an
illustration that the situation is improving, but the subsequent
blasphemy-related attacks on hundreds of Christian homes in Badami Bagh in
Lahore in March this year suggests otherwise.
Access to justice is problematic for all vulnerable
communities in Pakistan, including minorities. Perpetrators are rarely brought
to justice, which means that minorities are often viewed as easy targets.
Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus, Shias, Sufis and Sikhs have all been badly
affected, with Shia communities suffering by far the most casualties. Hate
speech and the propagation of inflammatory messages is a standard precursor to
religiously motivated violence, but it is rarely punished in Pakistan, despite
the fact that relevant legislation already exists. Even government officials
inciting violence have not been held accountable for their
actions.
The police and members of the judiciary need to be made
far more aware of human rights and the unacceptability of impunity. In the
aftermath of the Badami Bagh violence, many commented that it would not have
taken place if the perpetrators of previous mob incidents—Gojra in 2009, Sangla
Hill in 2005, Shanti Nagar in 1997—had been adequately dealt with. Official
investigation reports exist for at least the high-profile cases. Will the
Minister be pressing the incoming Government to make these public, or indeed to
shed light on the murder of the federal Minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, whose killers
have never been identified? If the case of an assassinated Cabinet Minister
remains unsolved, how can ordinary citizens have faith in the justice system and
why should potential attackers fear the law?
Knowing that he was likely to be assassinated, Shahbaz
Bhatti once said that he hoped his stand would send,
“a message of hope to the people living a life of
disappointment, disillusionment and despair”,
adding that his life was dedicated to the “oppressed,
downtrodden and marginalised” and to,
“struggle for human equality, social justice, religious
freedom, and to uplift and empower the religious minorities’
communities”.
Will we be pressing for an end to impunity and the
repeal of the anti-Ahmadi provisions in the constitution, which legitimise
violence and social prejudice? What will we be saying about gender-based
violence, the abduction, forced marriage and forcible conversion of Christian
and Hindu women and girls, which has increased in frequency in the past couple
of years, with perpetrators emboldened by the relatively low likelihood of
conviction? We have heard about the increase in aid provision this year from
£267 million to £446 million, with Pakistan about to become the largest
recipient of UK aid. What are we going to do in using that aid to press for the
removal of hate-driven material from schools and emphasising the importance of
forming teachers who nurture respect and tolerance? Donors such as the UK need
to be sure that they are not inadvertently funding materials that bolster
messages of religious intolerance and violence in Pakistan.
In 1947, at the time of partition, Muhammad Ali Jinnah,
gave a speech to the New Delhi Press Club, setting out the basis on which the
new state of Pakistan was to be founded. In it, he forcefully defended the
rights of minorities to be protected and to have their beliefs respected. He
said:
“Minorities, to whichever community they may belong,
will be safeguarded. Their religion, faith or belief will be secure. There will
be no interference of any kind with their freedom of worship. They will have
their protection with regard to their religion, faith, their life and their
culture. They will be, in all respects, the citizens of Pakistan without any
distinction of caste and creed”.
Pakistan’s new Government owe it to his memory, and to
the memory of men such as Shahbaz Bhatti, and to girls such as Malala Yousufzai,
the 15 year-old who was shot by the Taliban for pressing for the right of women
to an education, and to the millions who bravely defied the Taliban to vote in
recent elections in Pakistan, to make those sentiments a
reality.
2.21 pm
David
Alton
(Professor Lord Alton of
Liverpool)
House
of Lords,
