Targeting minorities

Pastor William Siraj was no ordinary person. He was a religious leader of a community which has contributed a lot to various fields in Pakistan. He was a pastor who led prayers for his people in their places of worship. He was also a symbol of harmony and religious tolerance in society. And he was laid to rest in Peshawar on Jan 31, 2022, after he lost his life in a gun attack the previous day. The pastor became a target in his moving car which came under fire from two gunmen on a motorcycle on the Ring Road in the provincial capital. Another priest travelling with him sustained serious injuries. That various religious groups in Pakistan find themselves vulnerable is a decades old story. Just in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in recent years there have been a number of attacks on members of religious minority groups. There is also an increasing use of the blasphemy law.

Such attacks create chaos in society as people belonging to smaller religious groups fear for their lives and properties. In the past 40 years, Pakistan has witnessed a consistent stoking of religious and sectarian hatred. Ultimately it is the responsibility of the state to protect all its citizens including its minorities. The country has paid a heavy price for increasing extremism and intolerance in society. There is an immediate need to restore a sense of security among people of all religions and sects, a need to initiate constructive dialogues and debates in educational institutions about the importance of harmony and tolerance. Sadly, such discussions have become so uncommon and even dangerous in educational institutions that not even senior teachers or academics dare say anything on this subject, lest they too become a target.

If religious minorities live under constant threat and their right to life and security is in danger, all talks of harmony will remain hollow. The government needs to seriously take steps to de-radicalise society. No community should be living on the margins for fear of violence against them. There is a need to implement the Supreme Court judgment that Justice Tassaduq Jillani delivered in 2014, ordering the government to lay down concrete measures to protect the rights of religious minorities. As the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has pointed out in its statement, the state must pursue the ethos of this judgment. For decades, religious minorities have been led to believe that their lives are expendable, that their safety is not a priority. It is unfortunate that, time and again, their fears have been shown to be justified.