THIS is apropos of your editorial, ‘An outdated law’ (July 31). Fasting is common in almost every major faith in the world.

I wonder what degree of intolerance is displayed in other countries when fasting takes place. Intolerance to other people who are not fasting was given a constitutional umbrella by Gen Zia in 1981, when the Ehteram-i-Ramazan Ordinance was issued.

Imagine a sick old person (or a diabetic) seen in Ramazan with a juice pack in one hand, walking and sipping in a crowded street in Saddar area of Karachi or in Peshawar. There may be some difference in the degree of intolerance in both of the cities, but the reaction by the public would more or less be the same.

I remember back in the late 1950s and 1960s how flimsy curtains were used to cover the front entrances of eating or drinking places as a mark of respect. Non-fasters were not often seen eating or drinking in the open, and children and older and people of other faiths were exempted.

However, later, prohibition was introduced with punishment by Ziaul Haq. As religious intolerance is on the rise, beating a non-observant in the public is indeed horrifying. The federal and provincial governments have allowed eating at railway stations, hospitals or at a clinics but it is still taboo.

Orthodox Christians observe their fast every Monday, each week round the year, and the duration of their fast is also longer than ours. But when they see a non-observant on the street, they simply turn away their faces.

Faith should be between God and the individual. That is integral to all major religions. By showing such intolerance we are simply politicising our faith. What message are we conveying to the global civilised community?

There are 57 Muslim countries and with the exception of Pakistan and a few others, such a strict observance is not seen. That does not mean that they are less religious. We should have an open and a freethinking civil society.

It has been observed that we are following Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan’s customs and rituals blindly. We should stop it now or we will be creating a nation of fantatics which will only harm us.

KUNWAR KHALID YUNUS Karachi