LAHORE, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- Three days prior to Pakistan's 63rd Independence Celebrations, the Christians of the country on Wednesday, August 11, 2010, observed "Black Day" to protest alleged discrimination against them.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founder, in his famous August 11, 1947, speech to the newly-formed Constituent Assembly promised "freedom and equality" for all faiths in the then new country and so this has become a symbolic date for Christian protests.
The latest protests took place today was launched under the umbrella of a group called Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP).
Representatives of churches, Christian rights groups and believers from all walks of life, participated in a protest rally which ended at the Lahore Press Club.
Naveed Walter, President of HRFP, who addressed a press conference at the Lahore Press Club today (August 11, 2010), later told ANS that the "increasing incidents of injustice and discrimination" against Pakistani Christians had prompted his group and other Christian organizations to observe August 11, 2010 as "Black Day".
Mr. Walter told ANS, "We had urged all like-minded organizations across Pakistan to observe August 11, 2010 as ‘Black Day' either with us or from their respective platforms."
Apprising ANS of the demands that he had made at the press conference, he said that his group categorically demanded the repeal of Pakistan controversial blasphemy laws.
He said that HRFP also demanded that the religious minorities of Pakistan be given the right to cast dual votes. He explained that, if implemented, members of the religious minorities under a dual vote system would be able to cast their vote for a Muslim candidate as well as to a member from minorities' communities on the "reserved seats."
Members of the religious minorities in Pakistan currently make their way to the national and provincial assemblies of Pakistan through the proportional representation system.
Criticizing this system, Walter alleged that the people who make it to the national and provincial assemblies under proportional representation "only serve rulers instead of serving their respective communities."
Mr. Waler added, "They are not accountable to the members of their respective community, but to the leadership of the political party that they belong to.
"The existing members of minorities in Parliament are puppets in the hands of the rulers. They are advancing the interests of the majority instead of their respective minority community."
He then alleged: "The rulers use them to stop the oppressed from agitating against the oppressors."
Naveed Walter said that he was of the view that under the Dual Vote System, the elected parliamentarians of minorities' communities would be accountable to their respective minority community.
When asked if he was in favor of an amendment in the blasphemy laws or even their repeal, Mr. Walter said that the laws should be "repealed once and for all."
The Christian rights activist then claimed that there was "no equality" in Pakistan.
"I only wish there was equality here for people of all faiths," he added. "I wish that the Christians of Pakistan were treated equally in Pakistan as the Muslims and other religious minorities are treated equally in Western countries."
He also condemned the idea of observing what is called "Minority Day" in Pakistan.
"What is the rationale behind observing ‘Minority Day' in Pakistan when the Christians of this country are being shot dead under the pretext of blasphemy?," he argued.
"Why should the Christians of Pakistan observe ‘Minority Day' when their places of worship are being desecrated; when their homes are being burned down; and Christian girls are being raped?" he went on to say.
Mr. Naveed said that HRFP was planning to host Minorities Conference in Pakistan in future to discuss all the difficulties that these groups face.
"We will continue our struggle for equal rights for Pakistani minorities including Pakistani Christians," he vowed.
Dan Wooding, 69, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 46 years. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC., and now hosts the weekly "Front Page Radio" show on KWVE in Southern California and which is also carried on the Calvary Radio Network throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK. Wooding is also a regular contributor to The Weekend Stand on the Crawford Broadcasting Network, and a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 192 countries. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel "Red Dagger" which is available here
Copyright ASSIST News Service. Used with permission.
Publication date: August 13, 2010
