ISLAMABAD, Nov 4: Leaders of the opposition in the four provincial assemblies have condemned alleged harassment and threats meted out to Clement Shahbaz Bhatti, the chairman of the All Pakistan Minorities’ Alliance (APMA), and inclusion of his name in the exit control list (ECL).

The opposition leaders in the provincial assemblies — Qasim Zia from Punjab, Kachkol Ali from Balochistan, Shahzada Gustasib from NWFP and Nisar Khuhro from Sindh — have jointly written a letter to Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali, demanding an end to the harassment, and exclusion of Mr Bhatti’s name from the ECL.

“Placing the name of Mr Bhatti on the ECL under section 2 of the Exit from Pakistan (Control) Ordinance 1981 is a sheer abuse of the process of law and cannot be countenanced on any hypothesis,” said the opposition leaders.

They demanded of the government to guarantee protection and freedom of expression to Mr Bhatti according to the laws of the country and international agreements to which Pakistan was a signatory.

“This is all the more necessary as the human rights record of Pakistan while dealing with the minorities have been susceptible to negative inferences amongst the enlightened world,” they said.

They regretted that the government had stooped to such negative, illegal and unconstitutional methods which were not only against the democratic norms but also offensive to the fundamental human rights as well those granted in the Constitution as well as the UN Charter on Human Rights.

They alleged that Mr Bhatti was being victimized because the APMA had entered into an alliance with the Pakistan People’s Party in the last general elections, which were held on the joint electorates basis.

“The APMA under the leadership of Mr Bhatti supported the PPP and got minority parliamentarians elected on the reserved seats from the platform of the party. Due to the close relations with the PPP and the party Chairperson Benazir Bhutto, Mr Bhatti is being threatened and harassed.”

They said Mr Bhatti had done nothing wrong by speaking on behalf of the minorities and had only used the freedom of expression as guaranteed under the laws of Pakistan.

“He has been vociferously highlighting the deprivation of the minorities and demanding of the government to protect their rights and take remedial steps to redress their grievances. His efforts are acknowledged by the national and international organizations and institutions,” the provincial opposition leaders maintained.

They said the APMA leader had always worked for making Pakistan a modern and progressive state where all its citizens would enjoy equal rights without any bias to caste, colour or creed.