CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES AND THE TREATMENT OF PAKISTAN’S RELIGIOUS MINORITIES

Abstract

Although Pakistan was created as a homeland for South Asia's Muslims, religious freedom was one of its founding principles. Seventy years later, Pakistan is better known for religious extremism and the persecution of Muslim and non-Muslim religious minorities. Pakistan's blasphemy law is a state-sanctioned tool of religious oppression used to target members of minority faith communities whether Ahmadiya, Christian, Hindu, or Shiite, as well as Sunnis who criticize the law. This paper discusses the blasphemy law and other laws that have led to the state of religious oppression in Pakistan.

Keywords:

• Pakistan
• minorities
• blasphemy
• Ahmadiya
• Jinnah
• Islam
• Christian
• Hindu
• Shiite
• Sunni
• religious oppression
• constitution

Notes

1 M. A. Jinnah's speech, 11 August 1947, in Constituent Assembly of Pakistan Debates, Vol. 1.

2 ‘The Objectives Resolution’. Islamic Studies Vol. 48. Issue 1 (Spring 2009): 91–119.

3 G. W. Choudhury, Documents and Speeches on the Constitution of Pakistan. Dacca: Green Book House, 1967.

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.

6 Khalid Bin Sayeed, ‘Pakistan's Constitutional Autocracy’. Pacific Affairs Vol. 36. Issue 4 (Winter 1963–1964): 368–369.

7 1973 Constitution of Pakistan, www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/.

8 ‘Qadianis Declared Minority: Preaching against Finality of Prophethood by a Muslim Made Punishable’. Dawn, September 7, 1974.

9 1973 Constitution of Pakistan, www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/.

10 W. Eric Gustafson, ‘Pakistan 1978: At the Brink Again?’ Asian Survey Vol. 19. Issue 2 (February 1979): 159–162.

11 Ayesha Jalal, The Struggle for Pakistan: Muslim Homeland and Global Politics. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 2014, pp. 222–224.

12 Ordinance XX of 26 April 1984.

13 Ibid.

14 Ibid.

15 ‘Pakistan: Human Rights after Martial Law, Chapter VIII: Rights of Religious and Other Minorities’. International Commission of Jurists’ 1987 report, Geneva, pp. 98–105.

16 Mujeeb ur Rehman v Federation of Pakistan, Pakistan Legal Decisions (PLD) 1984: Federal Shariat Court (FSC), p. 136.

17 Ibid.

18 Pakistan Penal Code: Act XLV of 1860, as amended from time to time.

19 ‘Detailed Judgement on Asghar Khan case in the Supreme Court of Pakistan’. Human Rights Case No 19 of 1996, https://pakistanconstitutionlaw.com/detailed-judgment-on-asghar-khan-case/, accessed 16 March 2018.

20 ‘Pakistan: Blasphemy Charges against Ahmadis’. London: Amnesty International, April 1994.

21 See for example, Anugrah Kumar, ‘Christian Man Arrested for “Blasphemy” in Pakistan After Muslim Business Rival Lodges Complaint’. Christian Post, September 5, 2015, www.christianpost.com/news/christian-man-arrested-for-blasphemy-in-pakistan-after-muslim-business-rival-lodges-complaint-144583/, accessed 16 March 2018, and Jibran Khan, ‘Karachi: Christian family faced with blasphemy and forced conversion threats’. Asia News, October 29, 2013, www.asianews.it/news-en/Karachi:-Christian-family-faced-with-blasphemy-and-forced-conversion-threats-29407.html, accessed 16 March 2018.

22 See for example Sattar Khan, ‘“WhatsApp blasphemy” and the plight of Pakistani Christians’. Deutsche Welle, August 9, 2017, www.dw.com/en/whatsapp-blasphemy-and-the-plight-of-pakistani-christians/a-40597455, accessed 16 March 2018.

23 Ibid.

24 ‘Pakistan: Violation of Human Rights of Ahmadis’. London: Amnesty International, September 1991.

25 ‘Text of Musharraf Speech’. Dawn, October 17, 1999.

26 ‘Church Expects Musharraf to Honor Promises to Religious Minorities’. February 24, 2000, www.ucanews.com/story-archive/?post_name=/2000/02/24/church-expects-musharraf-to-honor-promises-to-religious-minorities&post_id=15486, accessed 26 September 2015.