KARACHI: “End the massacre of poor workers! End massacre on the basis of religion. Salute the hard-working slain workers! Zulm ka jawab do! Khoon ka hisaab do! Jabri shadi na manzoor! Ghunda gardi na manzoor!”

The protest organised by the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) Pakistan outside the Karachi Press Club on Friday saw people from many walks of life chanting slogans and holding up placards as well as pictures of 12-year-old girl Anjali Kumari Meghwar, who was kidnapped and ‘forcibly’ converted, and the Christian couple — Shama and Shahzad Masih — who were brutally beaten and burned to death over accusations of blasphemy.

“If there is a blasphemy law and punishment for it, then there should also be a punishment in place for such injustices, where the law is misused and people are falsely accused,” said Mahnaz Rahman, resident director of the Aurat Foundation.

“We weren’t there when this grave injustice happened. We couldn’t hold Shama and Shahzad’s hand in their final moments, we couldn’t save the poor minor girl Anjali from being forced into accepting Islam, but we are here now fighting to get them justice. This is exploitation of poor labourers and religious extremism at its worst,” Ms Rahman added.

“We are out here protesting against it in streets as we find it unacceptable. Something must be done to stop such things from happening again,” she said.

Ambassador of peace and interfaith harmony and founding chief of the Interfaith Commission for Peace and Harmony Allama Muhammad Ahsan Siddiqui said that he couldn’t find words to express his grief on the burning alive of the Christian couple. “We need a new well-thought-out curriculum in schools that promotes secularism.”

Salahuddin Gandpur, member of the Sindh Bar Council, said, “When the government sits with arms folded and does nothing, we at least have to take to the streets to protest and raise awareness of the whole issue. We are not a religious state. We are a secular state and we have to explain that and remind people of that.”

Advocate Iqbal Lal said that he wanted the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo motu action against this and punish the people responsible for such heinous crimes within one month. “Otherwise more non-Muslims will leave this country,” he warned.

Condemning the crimes, former president of the High Court Bar Association Mustafa Lakhani said: “Islam and the constitution of Pakistan allow all citizens to follow their religion without any fear. But what is happening is something else entirely. It should be stopped.”

Former MPA and chairman of Minorities Alliance Pakistan Michael Javaid said peace could only be maintained in Pakistan if Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s vision was followed. He also presented a charter of demands for the government, politicians and Ulema, which included five per cent quota in government jobs for minorities, sanctity of religious places of minorities, housing schemes for religious minorities, election system for minorities, etc.

Other speakers at the protest demonstration were of the view that the ruling classes should change their attitude towards atrocities.

They said the living conditions for workers were deteriorating with every passing day. They were subjected to religious, ethnic and linguistic terrorism and the law and state apparatus had failed to provide them protection, they added.

It was said that cruelty on workers could only be stopped by workers themselves through unity and solidarity. Hundreds of thousands of working families, especially Christian workers, were tolerating hardships under forced labour. In Sindh, too, the Hindu peasants lead a miserable life. The example of a Hindu peasant Bhoro Bheel whose dead body was exhumed and thrown out of the graveyard was also given.

The poor Christian brick kiln workers were said to be no better than common slaves who were sold and bought while being subjected to physical and sexual violence, they said. It was pointed out that what happened with Shama and Shahzad Masih, who worked at a brick kiln, was in fact an industrial dispute that was turned into a religious one by the kiln owner.

It was regretted that the state was supporting those who tortured poor workers. Then when the workers protested, they were beaten with batons by the police or fired at openly and even arrested under anti-terror laws.

The tormentors get political and religious parties support as they happen to be their major financiers.

It was pointed out that by booking dozens of people in the murder of the Christian couple in Kot Radha Kishan the police had weakened the case.

The protesters also demanded that the owner and manager of the brick kiln be arrested and taken to task and that the heirs of the deceased couple be given compensation of Rs2 million each. The religious violence and suppression of Hindus, especially Bheel, Kohli and Meghwar peasants, should be stopped. The minor girl Anjali be handed over to her family and strict action be taken against her kidnappers.

Vice president of the Pakistan Workers Confederation Rafiq Baloch, deputy general secretary of the NTUF Nasir Mansoor, general secretary of the Home Based Women Workers Federation Zahra Khan, secretary of the Communist Party of Pakistan Karachi branch Comrade Rasheed, Sultan Mahmood of the JKPNP, Baldia Factory Fire Victims Association’s Mohammad Jabir, Mushtaq Ali Shah of the Sindh Agriculture General Workers Union, Mr Zaman of the Railway Mazdoor Union, Tauqeer Abbas of the PIA Hotel Union, Abdul Rehman Afridi of J&P Coats Union and Mufti Abdul Qadir Jafar, Allama Hamid Mahmood Kaghani, Dr Laeeq Raj, Pundit Babu Seva, Kailash Kumar, Advocate Saleem Michael and Maulana Rehan Mustafa of Interfaith Commission for Peace and Harmony also spoke on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2014