Excerpt from The Targeting Of 'Minority Others' in Pakistan 'Introduction'

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Chapter 1.1 Introduction by Wilson Chowdhry (Chairman BPCA)

This book- length report is one of the few collaborative efforts to highlight concerns on the treatment of minorities in Pakistan. Its wide –ranging coverage of issues pertaining to a number of different ‘Othered’ communities and groups living in Pakistan, with inputs by campaigners from varying minority groups, make it relatively unique. I felt challenged to coordinate the writing of this report as a means to highlight the ongoing persecution of minorities in Pakistan. Although the experience of the British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA) in the field is quite small in chronological terms, we have, in recent times, become one of the most effective and recognised voices in highlighting the plight felt by so many “Others”

For many readers, this may be the first time that the full scope of the atrocities that Pakistan’s minorities face every day will have become known to you. Some of you will be horrified by the accounts represented in our research – and others will be offended. If you feel offense, let me clarify that none of the accounts are fictional and all have been verified through supporting documents and reports, both online and paper, personal evidence and official reports. We have not tried to spin a story but have grown this report organically via the information gathered by contributors from their wide experience and sources. As a group, we are not ‘Anti – Pakistani’ but have a strong passion for improving the quality of life for all citizens of Pakistan. I have been banned from Pakistan for the human rights work and protests undertaken by the BPCA, and thus, have paid for my desire to help with separation from my family living in Pakistan.

Thank you for reading this and please know that your sharing, liking and commenting on this post goes a long way in helping to give voice to the persecuted.

All proceeds from the sale of the book support the work of the BPCA.  Much of the early sales will be used to support victims of the Peshawar bomb attacks - December 2013.

Imam arrested, Rimsha still imprisoned

Hafiz Mohammed Khalid Chishti aka Khalid Jadoon 

being led to court.  Photo AFP

As many readers of BPCA will already know, the imam who accused Rimsha of blasphemy has been arrested for fabricating evidence after a witness at his mosque reported that he had added torn pages of the Quran to ashes allegedly from Rimsha Masih's bag, allegedly saying 'This will get rid of the Christians'.  Reports indicate that several more witnesses have come forward to confirm this. Wilson Chowdhry our Chairman was interviewed on this emerging news on Sunday morining by 11 BBC local Radio stations including BBC Humberside, BBC Torquay, BBC Manchester and others.  This is good news, but BPCA would like to point out

1) that the charges were originally about pages burnt from a book teaching Arabic.  As far as we know, these accusations still stand.  Moreover Blasphemy cases are cognisable; a legal definition that means she will have to go through the court process unless President Zardari uses his power of veto.  There is no other option such as retraction of the charges or any other compromise.  So at this stage Rimsha is not yet exonerated. 

2) Rimsha is still in prison, in adult prison although she is a minor with learning difficulties, locked up with Islamicists and murderers, including the man who assassinated governor Taseer over the blasphemy laws.

3)  According to sources, even though she is so traumatized she can barely speak, the police have apparently sent a report saying that she admitted to burning the pages of the book.  Given the pressure felt by even adult and mentally normal people accused of blasphemy, and given her age and condition and trauma, the BPCA wants to highlight this fact, and that such 'confessions' could still be used against her.

4)  Chishti's lawyer has openly called for Rimsha to be killed if she is released / aquitted.  

5) We support the use of maximum penalties against him.  In the Old Testament, one of the times when 'eye for an eye' was mandated was when people falsely accused others.  It acts as a deterrent.  Christian forgiveness should not  However, the fact remains that 

a) the laws are wrong, and a tool of discrimination and need to change

b) the must be a concerted revolution in the attitude of Pakistani society over cases like this - after all so many Christians and judges have been murdered when they were correctly acquitted, others have to go into hiding for the rest of their lives and emigrate.  

c) Muslims are all too frequently let off, while maximum penalties are applied to Christians on very dubious, if not outright false charges.

d) This one case, even if he does get charged and convicted, and not let off after pressure from the usual sources, does not change the fact that point c) applies across Pakistan.

6)  The imam has been arrested because of the outrageousness of his accusations, the nature of the victim, and the fact that there were eyewitnesses to his duplicity who were prepared to come forward.  A one off case as clear cut like this does not help those many other victims who don't have people prepared to stand up for them, whose cases are less in the public eye, and whose alleged crimes (eg spoken word blasphemy cases only) leave no physical evidence of the falsity of the accusations - it's just the word of one (despised, and disbelieved under Sharia law) Christian against that of an 'honoured Muslim'.  Even if all goes as it should, the unjust laws, especially given the deeply discriminatory and terroristic nature of Pakistani society for minorities, continue.  

7) This one case is one of many many other cases of blasphemy accusations, each equally spurious, but for whom justice is unlikely to be done, especially since they are not in the eye of the media

8)  For instance, Asia Bibi is still on death row, sentenced to death, and living in fear of fellow prisoners poisoning her.  

Sources  1, 2, 3

Killings and kidnappings near and far

Sindh Christian MPA Saleem Khokhar - 

received death threats for standing up for Hindu women

As we come up next month to the anniversary of the start of Asia Bibi's incarceration on false charges of blasphemy, we start by focusing on the place where it all started, her home village of Ittan Wali.  This article from nearly 18 months ago tells of the attitude among Bibi's fellow villagers, and provides a stark reminder of the environment in which her ordeal was born, and from which her family sought escape.  


Under the heading 'Villagers issue their own verdict' the article conveys the fury the villagers feel.  One old man says 'If she returned I would beat her to death with anything I could get my hands on', with a crowd of onlookers, young and old, agreeing she should die.  After her arrest, local clerics began announcing that 'Christians are dogs', and the village of Ittan Wali's' cleric Maqsood Ahmed Masoomi suggested that if anyone in the village commits blasphemy, they may not make it to the courtroom.


"They should be killed on the spot," he said. 


The BPCA has always acknowledged that other minorities and groups also suffer in Pakistan.  One Pakistani newspaper article asks the question 'How much killing is too much?'  We will refrain from the rather obvious answer, because the sentiment of the article is ours.  The article notes a number of killings of various sects over the last month or two, and continues 'The treatment of Pakistan’s minorities has never been good, but, in the last few years, things have gone from hostile to absolutely intolerant.'   It even goes so far as to say that the level of persecution against minorities in Pakistan is edging closer to the definition of genocide.  It notes that in one Pakistani province alone, an estimated 3000 Hindu girls have been kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam.  


It also cites an old but very pertinent case - that of Nazir Bhatti, editor of the Paksitani Christian Post, who after a 1997 peaceful protest that ended in murder and bloodshed perpetrated by the police, was targeted as an alleged ringleader, and in two hours had 21 serious charges falsely brought against him, including murder and blasphemy.  He had to flee the country.  


The same newspaper also carried an article concerning death threats against a Christian MPA (Member of a Pakistani Provincial Assembly).  Saleem Khursheed Khokhar, from the Sindh assembly, has been vocal in opposing the abduction and forced conversion of Hindu women and girls to Islam, in particular in the light of a recent case where Hindu women were kidnapped and forced to marry and convert according to their families.


The MPA Khokhar is concerned that the security guards he has been given are too few and haven't been vetted, considering they are Muslim - a pertinent point, given governer Taseers murder by one of his bodyguards over similar controversial areas.  He has been receiving death threats by text such as 'Only Muslims will be allowed to live peacefully in this country. No one else will be allowed to live here with dignity' and 'You should learn from the remarks of Chief Justice, and High Court, only Muslims are allowed to live here. You should leave the country or you would be responsible for what happens.'


Finally, like many of you, we have followed the case concerning the murder of British-Pakistani teenager 8 years ago.  Her parents have been put on trial for what prosecutors maintain is a case of honour (or better a shameful dishonour) killing - after her father drugged her to take her to Pakistan, which she drank bleach after fearing she was facing a forced marriage.  According to her sister, she was killed by suffocation for failing to follow her parents wishes over various matters, including boyfriends.  All we can say is, if a culture produces such fruit where they are in a minority, how much worse must it be (and as we know, is in fact) when they are in a majority in their home country against minority citizens. 

Blasphemous double standards, dirty drinks, discriminatory laws and lawyers

You've heard of Asia Bibi right? A poor Christian farm labourer from an obscure village, persecuted and attacked for her faith, then accused of blasphemy under the notorious 'Hudood code' blasphemy laws and sentenced to death. But have you heard of Aamir Liaquat? Not some obscure poor rural woman, but a religious scholar with his own TV show in Pakistan and a former State Minister for Religious Affairs. When videos emerged of outtakes from his show where he laughed at a woman caller who asked questions about rape and suicide, swore - a lot, and making comments deemed as blaspheming against the companions of Islam's prophet, he claimed that it was all a fake, a conspiracy, that the tapes had been tampered with. Eventually though, he made a tearful public repentance, and fellow religious scholars issued statements that his repentance complied with all sharia requirements. He got away scott free, and continued his show on TV, even though the same Hudood laws used to condemn to death the innocent Asia Bibi required a 3 year prison term and / or a fine for such an offence. Go figure. This exemplifies the reality of the situation in Pakistan.

Oh, what a wonderful law!

Talking of this set of laws, they also impose similar sentences on any of the Muslim Ahmadi sect (deemed as not really Muslims) who referred to themselves as Muslims, called their place of worship a mosque, etc, etc. To guage some idea of the hostility and religious equivalent to racism in Pakistan, we only need to look at a recent event where the Lahore Bar Association voted, apparently unanimously, to ban any 'Shezan' brand drinks in courts and prosecute anyone selling them on court premises. Why? Because they are produced by an Ahmadhi owned company. The lawyers plan to ban all other products from the same firm. Naturally the Ahmahdi lawyers and canteen owners are not happy.

The incident with Aasia Bibi started when she was deemed to have polluted water just by being a Christian, these drinks are banned by bigots just because they are made by Ahmahdi's - no doubt polluted too. Let's call this for what it is. The religious equivalent of racism and apartheid, and it is enforced and enabled by these wicked laws, laws that violate basic human rights and UN human rights declarations. It's time to take a stand. If you want to stand up for the rights of freedom of religion and speech in Pakistan for Christians and other minorities, come and join us on the morning of 10th of March to protest and petition outside the Pakistani embassy and 10 Downing Street, and join us to press for peace with music at our Peace Concert in Trafalgar Square in the afternoon.

http://britishpakistanichristian.blogspot.com/2011/11/protest-march-and-trafalgar-square.html

Sources

http://tribune.com.pk/story/334757/barred-lawyers-ban-drink-on-court-complex/

http://kashifmd.com/2012/01/11/aamir-and-aasia-a-tale-of-two-blasphemies/

Iran tries amnesia - is Pakistan trying the same? A Call to arms

We take a moment to draw your attention to recent aspects of an ongoing case in Iran, about Pastor Nadarkhani - arrested on apostasy charges 3 years ago after protesting about the fact his son would be forced to read the Quran in school. He has been threatened with the death penalty unless he converts to Islam. After international outcry, suddenly the charges against him were said to have really been rape and 'Zionsim' all along. Most recently, the Ayatollah who is the head of Iran's judiciary has ordered the judge to delay the verdict for one year, and several observers believe the goal is to let the furore simmer down so Christians around the world forget about him, and then he can be quietly executed.

Asia Bibi is in a similar limbo. Originally convicted of 'blasphemy and sentenced to death, the President was going to pardon her, but under huge protests from across the Muslim community

including some so-called 'moderates' meant that idea was put on ice. Some say that we should keep quiet about Asia to allow for quiet diplomacy. Perhaps. Or, it could have the result of making way for her to be forgotten, and for the sharia-fanatics to have their way. For better or worse, she has become the symbol of the oppression of the perverse and perverting blasphemy laws that are used to oppress minorities, to intensify and perpetuate the prejudices and injustices of the last few decades, and are abused to settle personal scores or Christians who get to 'uppity' or 'big for their shoes'. Familiar sentiments for those with memories of the Jim Crow laws of pre-Civil Rights America - it's not for nothing that 2 posts ago Asia was referred to as the Rosa Parks of Pakistan. If you don't know how Rosa Parks is, google her.

If not so much for Asia's sake, then for the sake of all the lesser known names and the past and present and future victims, dead and living, we need to stand up boldly for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Pakistan, and in righteous anger oppose the unjust laws that oppress them.

It is a spiritual battle.

Prayer and persuasion, protest and politicking will be needed.

This is the year! It may well be the first of many years. But this is the year to pick up the pace, to raise the banner higher. I talk to church leaders in Pakistan - they say anything we can do will help. In March this year, there is an opportunity. As we remember the first anniversary of the martyrdom of Shabbhaz Bhatti, who devoted his life to supporting the Christians of Pakistan and opposing the blasphemy laws, let us take up the banner that he held to his very last. Not just one Federal Minister, but a network of stern opponents of the blasphemy laws around the world. Like the fight to abolish the slave trade under that great politician and campaigner Wilberforce, it may last a lifetime, but it is a battle that needs to be fought and won.

Join us. Wherever you are in the world, let the anniversary of Bhatti's death be the occasion to make a stand. Talk to your local and national politicians. Organize rallies. Join with like minded-groups and people. Raise the issue. First of all pray, and rally the church. Start doing it now. In the UK, we will be having one of our marches in London. We want it to be a big one.

10th March. Put it in your diary.

Make every effort to be there. Make every effort to not be there alone, but with as many as you can bring. If you can't go, encourage others you know to come anyway.

As well as the normal protests and petitions at the Pakistani embassy and at the Prime Ministers pile, we are planning on doing a 3 hour peace concert in Trafalgar square. We are looking for great talent, old and new, known and unknown. We already have some names lined up. But a concert costs money for things like stage and sound. If you can help give, there's a donate button at the top right of this posting.

We will also need stewards and ushers to help out. If you can help in this way, get in contact with Wilson - email Wilson@aasecurity.co.uk - or see his other contact details to the left.

If you are passionate about religious freedom and want to get involved as a musician, email myself at bpcajumble@hotmail.co.uk, along with samples of or links to your music, and we will consider your request. There's no money in it. You would just get yourself, your band and instruments down here, and pair off with our stage and sound.....

Above all else, PRAY. For the Christians in Pakistan, for Asia, and for ours and other efforts to raise the issue of the blasphemy laws. And pray to for Pastor Nadarkhani in our neighbouring nation of Iran, and remember not to forget him, or those like him.

Source for Iran Story

Asia Bibi tortured by prison officers

According to a Pakistani newspaper, the Express Tribune, Asia Bibi, the poster-victim of Pakistan's wicked blasphemy laws has been tortured by one of wardens at the Sheikhupura jail where she is imprisoned in solitary confinement awaiting a death sentence for defending her Christian faith. The warden Khadeeja allegedly tortured her after claiming he found 'prohibited items' in her cell. Other prison staff watched and did nothing to stop the attack. (Well, she's only a kuffir Christian, after all.....) Thankfully, it appears that (eventually) the culprit has at least been suspended from duty (for how long, we shall have to see).

Don't forget to pray for Asia Bibi and also her family, who are being threatened and isolated by Islamic militants.

Also, spread the word - facebook this article, etc, and if you haven't already, sign our petition to free Asia Bibi and repeal the abominable blasphemy laws.

And remember your taxpayers money is being used to fund education in this country without adequate (or any?) controls to make sure that it is not used to further marginalize minorities. If that outrages you - and it should - also sign our petition calling on the Foreign Office to actually use aid to promote desperately needed Humanitarian reform in Pakistan

Source

Asia Bibi's family and the Islamicist Vice

We call for renewed prayer for Asia Bibi and her family. Even while still unjustly kept in prison under a death sentence based simply on prejudice (Muslim colleagues in the fields reported her after she dared to touch and drink from the same water bowl as them and the ensuing confrontation) and malice, the death threats continue. A Muslim leader has offered a 4 figure (dollars) reward for her death, and in prison she eats only the food her husband can bring, to try and eliminate the threat of poisoning. Thousands of Muslim fundamentalists are holding the government to ransom, trying to get the death penalty carried out, and opposing the just international efforts to reverse this unlawful and wicked perversion of justice.

In addition, the fundamentalists are issuing death threats against her husband and daughters (including a disabled girl) and against her wider family. They are especially threatening to kill anyone who tries to get in contact with the family, reports the local church minister, Kamran Michael. Evidently the idea is to exert psychological pressure and a sense of isolation on the family. Even if messages can't get through, our prayers can.

Thanks to the Christians in Pakistan website for alerting us to this issue

http://www.christiansinpakistan.com/asia-bibi-update/#more-1325