Islamabad, Sept 16(ANI): The Pakistan military's flawed policies of supporting sectarian outfits and other religious organisations must come to an end, an editorial in a Pakistani newspaper has said.
The US State Department's July-December, 2010 International Religious Freedom Report has named Pakistan among the ten countries 'failing to sufficiently protect religious rights', the Daily Times editorial said.
"The [Pakistan] government did not reform a blasphemy law that had been used to prosecute those who belong to religious minorities, and in some cases Muslims who promote tolerance. The government also used provisions of the penal code to prevent Ahmedis from practicing their religion," the State Department's report said.
When late Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer raised the issue of amending the blasphemy laws, he was silenced by a fanatic's bullets, the editorial noted, adding that former Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti was the second victim of the religious fanatics who opposed anyone challenging the flawed blasphemy laws.
"These laws have been used to settle petty feuds, personal rivalries, property disputes, etc, both against the Muslims and non-Muslims by people with vested interests," the editorial observed.
Many Islamic scholars are of the opinion that Pakistan's blasphemy laws are man-made and thus can be changed since they are not based on Islamic teachings, but unfortunately, anybody who dares to challenge the veracity of these laws as per Islamic jurisprudence are threatened, harassed and/or killed, it added.
"The government has, by the looks of it, given up on any debate regarding the blasphemy laws in view of two publicised killings of politicians this year - Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer and federal Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti," the editorial said.
It pointed out various reasons for religious intolerance in Pakistan.
"Madrassas, jihadi organisations, textbooks with distorted history, sermons by illiterate and intolerance clerics, etc, are but a few reasons why Pakistan remains one of the most intolerant societies worldwide," it said.
The editorial opined that the Pakistan Government must bring about educational reforms and close down religions seminaries, or at least bring them into the mainstream, and ban hate literature.
"The military's flawed policies of supporting sectarian outfits and other religious organisations must come to an end apart from making Pakistan's constitution secular in letter and spirit," it added. (ANI)
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