Living in Fear Pakistan's Unequal Citizens
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Living in fear - Pakistan’s unequal citizens Living in fear Pakistan’s unequal citizens A report on faith based prejudices and discrimination 2014-15 Yameema Mitha Alyia Bano, Zainab Ali Living in fear - Pakistan’s unequal citizens Living in fear - Pakistan’s unequal citizens ‘Dedicated to those whose sacrifices continue to generate energy for change’ Living in fear - Pakistan’s unequal citizens 1st Edition October 2015 ISBN: 978-969-9338-07-6 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in retrieval system, transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of Pattan. Project Team Team leader: Sarwar Bari Main author: Yameema Mitha Associate authors: Alyia Bano and Zainab Ali Editing: Emily Bari Cover design: William Pervaiz Designing: Rizwan Shahzad Project manager: Rabia Ghani Project officers: Samia Arif & William Pervaiz Living in fear - Pakistan’s unequal citizens Table of Contents Page I Acknowledgements VI II Foreword VII III Message from The Asia Foundation IX IV Executive Summery X C V Backdrop XIV Dr. Abdus Salam, Nobel Laureate, Physics XIX S.P Singha, Speaker Punjab Assembly, 1947 XIV VI 2014 for the Minorities XVIII 1 Introduction 1 2 Research Methodology 7 O 3 The Research Findings 9 3.1 The State and the Law 10 3.2 Society and People 13 3.2.1 Social Interaction 13 3.2.2 Media 16 3.2.3 Names 17 N 3.3 Services and Opportunities 18 3.3.1 Education 18 3.3.2 Sports 21 3.3.3 Employment 22 3.3.4 Water and Sanitation 24 3.3.5 Justice 25 T 3.3.6 Access to Public Funds for the Poor 25 3.3.7 NADRA 26 3.4 Assets and Business 26 3.5 Representation 26 3.5.1 Reserved Seats 27 3.5.2 Reserved Quota 28 E 3.5.3 Local Councils 28 3.6 Fear and Persecution 29 3.6.1 Preaching by Muslims 30 3.6.2 Places of Worship 31 3.7 Gender 32 3.8 Blasphemy Law 33 4 Recommendations 37 N 5 Appendices 38 5.1 Summary of some anti-minority laws 38 5.2 State of Minorities in Pakistan: Some Excerpts 39 5.3 Constitutional Guarantees for and Discriminatory Articles Against Non-Muslims 41 5.4 Findings of the Focus Group Discussions and Interviews of Key Informants 43 5.5 Number and Categories of Participants of Focus Group Discussions 68 T 5.6 Number and Categories of Key Informants of Interviews 68 5.7 List of Parliamentarians Participated in KAP surve 69 5.8 Research Tools (Questionnaires, Focus Group Discussion Themes and Guides) 71 6 Bibliography 87 7 Glossary 89 S VI I Living in fear - Pakistan’s unequal citizens Every member of the research team deserves special appreciation for their courage and their good sense while conducting the discussions and interviews on these highly sensitive issues in an extremely A dangerous environment. The project took place in a time and an environment when terrorists could attack anyone, anywhere and anytime in the country. Their supporters and sympathisers were present everywhere and did not trouble to hide their aggression should you utter a word that they didn’t like C to hear. The research team sailed through these risks with strength of purpose, good sense and calm. I also wish to express my deep gratitude to all the participants and respondents who dared to express K their opinions and shared their experiences with and without hesitation. I would like to express my very great appreciation to Yameema Mitha for writing the report. My grateful thanks are also extended to Alyia Bano and Zainab Ali for conducting the focus group discussions, and interviews with key officials and key informants across Punjab and Islamabad; and N for their documentation and analysis. My gratitude is also extended to Emily Bari for helping to proofread the report on a pro bono basis. I also thank AyazWagha and M Waqas for preparing the tables and graphs for the report, and William O Pervez for designing the cover page. Without the precious support and cooperation of the Pattan staff in particular Rabia Ghani, Samia Arif, W and KausarHussain it would not have been possible to meet the milestones of this research. Last but not the least, I would like to thank The Asia Foundation not only for providing funds but also technical cooperation throughout the project. My special thanks are extended to Ms. Nadia Tariq Ali L and Mr. Kashif Kamal of The Asia Foundation. E Sarwar Bari National Coordinator D Pattan Development Organisation G E M E N T S VII Living in fear - Pakistan’s unequal citizens II On 15th March 2015, in the vicinity of Lahore, Taliban suicide bombers hit two churches, killing 18 Christian worshippers. On 15th March 2015, in the vicinity of Lahore, Taliban suicide bombers attacked two churches, killing 18 Christian worshippers. F On 4th November 2014 in Kot Radha Kishan, a Christian couple was burnt to death by a Muslim mob, reportedly provoked by a local mullah. Such incidents are neither new nor isolated. In 1997, Shanti Nagar, (Abode of Peace) a Christian majority village close to Khanewal city, was burnt to ashes. In August 2009, a Christian settlement at Gojra, district Toba Tek Singh, faced a similar fate. In Lahore city on 8th March 2013, yet O another Christian neighbourhood was attacked. In all these cases, the ‘perpetrators’ had a free hand as local police acted merely as ‘spectators’ and a large majority of Muslims remained ‘bystanders’. Though Christians were the target in all the above-mentioned cases too, there is a need to make a distinction between the suicide attacks on churches and mob attacks on Christian communities. While the suicide attacks are part of the terrorists’ strategy, the attacks on Christian settlements R are communal in nature. But very often those who mobilize such incidents are people who are active supporters of such terrorists. Most of these incidents took place in and around Lahore. The area had a history of violent communalism even during the British raj. Understandably, after Independence the frequency of communal violence decreased. But it reached unprecedented heights since General Zia’s dictatorship (1977-88) when Pakistan joined the CIA-Saudi sponsored Afghan Jihad in the 1980s. E The state not only promoted extremist ideology but also helped extremists to form militias - a clear violation of article 256 of the constitution of Pakistan. Under the government of General Musharraf (1999-2008) a half hearted attempt was made, albeit with much fanfare, to reverse the trend. This actually made the situation even worse. In the aftermath of the Taliban attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar on 16th December 2014, once again, under military command, the civilian government announced a 20-point W National Action Plan, which envisages the eradication of all forms of terrorists and their support base and includes the protection of minorities. Last year, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, in its landmark verdict of 19th June, ordered the government to take concrete measures in order to improve the status of minorities in the country. The government simply ignored the decision till the apex court took yet another suo moto action in the aftermath of the Kot Radha Kishan incident. O This research not only helped us to examine the issues faced by minorities and the factors underlying the anti minority mindset but also deepened our understanding of how this mindset is currently being expressed both explicitly and implicitly. It is worth flagging up here one major finding of the research - hate and suspicion against non- Muslim citizens is deep and widespread, as it has been systematically cultivated in the country R with complete impunity. The state apparatus instead of building integration, has itself sown the seeds of fragmentation and sectarianism. This fits perfectly into the ‘Ladder of Prejudice’ model. Extermination and physical attack is the last rung of the model when the first rung of the ladder is the spread of hate and suspicion. When the mullah announces from a mosque that a Christian has desecrated the Quran, his brainwashed flock reacts like a robot. D VIII Living in fear - Pakistan’s unequal citizens In our view, the 19th June decision of the Supreme Court and the National Action Plan provides a major possibility to eradicate the fountains of prejudice and terrorism. But merely setting up of military courts and executions will never achieve the purpose. More serious and patient work is required to build the trust of non-Muslim communities and create some harmony with them. But civil society must not leave this to the government. It should strategize its role as a collective and one important pillar of this strategy should be - to move from reactive to proactive mode. Making the government accountable for its responsibilities under the NAP 20 points and targets set by the apex court should be declared as a topmost priority. Sarwar Bari IX Living in fear - Pakistan’s unequal citizens III Message from The Asia Foundation All societies contain minorities of one kind or another: not everyone shares the same ethnicity, language, religion or gender, to mention only some of the more obvious factors which may differentiate a group of people. But a healthy society finds ways of accepting differences rather than ignoring or suppressing them, and indeed of valuing the diversity among its people. M Pakistan is a hugely diverse country. But its religious minorities have been under increasing threat in recent times, and have suffered some horrific acts of violence which have disgusted the vast majority of Pakistanis.