PRESIDENT of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf, foremost ally of the western world in its on-going combat against the scourge of terror, was accorded high honour and esteem when he attended the ‘Extraordinary Summit’ of the Organization of Islamic Conference at Makkah last week.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia paid him a great compliment, placing him high in the hierarchy of OIC members. Who is to say the general is undeserving of his accolade?
When abroad, he makes all the right noises to please and reassure the leaders of the rest of the world that he is indeed sincere in his quest for enlightened moderation to be spread not only in his own country, but over the entire Ummah (what has lately become known as the ‘Muslim world’). He is a signatory to the Makkah Declaration which avows the intent of the leaders of the 57 Muslim countries to combat terrorism, bigotry, and injustices within their own lands, and which also acknowledges “that reform and development are the priority to which all efforts should be channelled within a framework that is intimately moulded on our Islamic social makeup.”
Fine, and devoutly to be wished. But the general is not doing too well on his own watch, in his own land, over which he wields supreme power, where yesterday, International Human Rights Day, his message to his countrymen was: “We must individually and collectively rededicate ourselves to the promotion and protection of human rights.”
He is well aware how bigotry and intolerance flourish in Pakistan, unchecked and even unacknowledged by those to whom he has handed power to wield. Take the example of the treatment meted out last month to one of our minority communities in Sangla Hill, an area in the ruling province. What happened, what damage was done to the Christians of the area and their property and places of worship emanates purely and directly from the fact that General Musharraf has for the past six years put behind him, washed his hands of so to speak, the issue of the blasphemy laws, iniquitous and framed and amended by his predecessors in office, one army general and one civilian prime minister.
The blasphemy laws exist solely to enable our thugs and robbers to use them to further their own greed or their own desire for vengeance. They are merely a tool with which to bludgeon. No sane man of any faith or creed, knowing the law, would even contemplate the mildest form of blasphemy — even those of weak mind would think twice.
A Christian was accused of blasphemy by a Muslim neighbour who had a bone to pick with him. This sparked off a sequence of events which have been well covered in the press by news items and in several columns. The point is that violence occurred because of the fact that our theocratic thugs insist that these laws remain in place and have prevailed upon the General to toe their line. Early in November, churches in the Sangla Hill area were desecrated and destroyed, Christian students were beaten up, and one Pir Mohammad Afzal Qadiri, Markazi Ameer Alam-i-Tanzeem Ahl-e-Sunnat (unworthy of this impressive sounding name and title) not only condoned the attack by his fellow Muslims upon the Christian churches and properties, but urged those of his faith to unite and eliminate Christians for the honour and integrity of Islam.
On November 14, five leaders representing the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Pakistan, the National Council of Churches, Presbyterian Church and Salvation Army addressed and sent a letter to President General Pervez Musharraf :
“Subject: desecration of three churches and destruction of church properties at Sangla Hill, Punjab. Your Excellency, We, the undersigned Christian leaders of Churches of Pakistan, feel duty bound to bring to your immediate notice the grave incident that took place on Saturday, Nov 12, 2005, at 11 am when a well organized mob, estimated at 3,000 men, attacked and desecrated three churches and other church properties at Sangla Hill, Dt Nankana Sahib.
“The Presbyterian Church was first desecrated and 250 Holy Bibles burnt, then the pastor’s residence was ransacked and completely gutted.
“The Catholic Church was a scene of utter desolation after the mob had ransacked it and smashed the sacred vessels and the Holy Books (including the Holy Bible). All the sacred vestments and books were taken to the pastor’s residence and burnt. The fanatical mob set fire to the furniture, books (including Holy Bibles) and precious family records dating from 1912 which can never be replaced. They have been reduced to black ashes.
“Boldly breaking all cultural customs, the mob of men violated the private living quarters of the holy sisters at nearby St Mary’s convent and systematically smashed every object in sight. They did not spare the small chapel of the nuns, breaking the sacred images, which are most holy for Christians.
“The unruly mob also went systematically around the three school buildings, smashing the windows and burning the furniture. They did the same to the boarding hostel where 30 small children were residing and completely ransacked it. Most of the sisters and children have left the station in a state of shock and the schools are closed indefinitely. “The ferocity of the attacks has left us stunned. What provoked such heinous sacrileges? It was a baseless rumour that a certain Yusaf Masih, a local Christian, had set the Holy Quran on fire. The fact of the matter is that Yusaf was playing a game with two Muslims who lost a large sum of money. They asked him to return the money and when he refused they turned round and accused him of burning the Holy Quran. On investigation, it will be revealed that a few pages of Quranic verses were lying in a tin box and these were burned by someone and Yusaf was accused. But this allegation has yet to be proved.
“Tension built up over the alleged blasphemy on Friday evening, when certain maulvis began to incite the people on the mosque loudspeakers. The parish priest, Fr Samson Dilawar, informed the police on Friday night, twelve hours before the attack.. They sent a token force of a few policemen.
“But the next morning, at the moment of the attack, there were hardly any policemen on guard duty. They only came in force three hours later, after the crowd had dispersed. The role of the law enforcing agencies in this case needs to be thoroughly investigated because they have deliberately neglected their duty, even after being warned.
“Your Excellency, the sentiments of the Christian community are profoundly shocked and hurt by these heinous acts of desecration on their sacred places of worship. We strongly condemn these attacks as acts of terrorism against a weak and defenceless religious minority. These are not the work of an emotional mob but well trained militants who came from outside, armed with sophisticated incendiary powders that produce high density heat. The ceiling fans and roof girders melted from the intense heat.
“We religious leaders of the Christian churches condemn this massive attack and we demand a high-level judicial inquiry and exemplary punishment to all the culprits responsible for this deliberate outrage. The concerned police officers should be immediately suspended till the findings of the judicial inquiry are concluded.
“The incident sharply reveals the ineffectiveness of the new rules of the blasphemy law. And once again we call for a total repeal of this law. Our people feel very much afraid and insecure and only strong affirmative action on the part of your government will reassure them about the truth of your oft-repeated statement that ‘Christians are equal citizens of this country’.”
No action was taken. No one cared a damn. So what happened next? As a report on Zenit, an e-mail news service, has it:
“Islamabad, Pakistan, Dec 2, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Christians are being expelled from their homes in Pakistan to make room for victims of the earthquake that hit Kashmir and the northwestern region of the country in early October.
“Reports from Catholic leaders spearheading the relief work following the earthquake say that hundreds or even thousands of people near Joharabad, close to Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, are being made homeless, with no prospect of alternative accommodation being found.
“In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Anthony Lobo of Islamabad-Rawalpindi said he feared that the incident of forced ejections he had uncovered was just one of many taking place across the region.
“The bishop continued: ‘In one district near Joharabad, all the people are being thrown out — all of them are Christians. We are the most vulnerable people, we are very poor and we are easy targets.’ He said the ejections were all the more insulting to the Christian community because the government had plenty of land of its own on which to house the displaced Kashmiri people.
“But, according to the bishop, the authorities preferred housing the refugees in Christian homes because it would save them the costly and time-consuming task of erecting shelters on alternative sites.”
It is high time the general, in his own individual capacity, rededicated himself to protect the human rights of his citizens, majority and minority. The buck stops at his desk. There is no one else who can or who has the will to either dedicate or rededicate — they simply don’t care.
arfc@cyber.net.pk