Author:
Publication: The Times of India
Date: February 19, 2002
URL: http://origin.timesofindia.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=1496622
The military regime has rejected
the US demand to repeal the blasphemy law and also to do away with the
constitutional provision that declares Ahmadis (Qadianis) non-Muslim.
An official spokesman told The News
on Monday that these were the settled issues, which the government did
not want to re-open yet to create another controversy. There was consensus
in the country on these sensitive issues, he added.
A resolution was recently introduced
in the US House of Representatives urging Pakistan to repeal the blasphemy
law and the provisions that declare Ahmadis non-Muslim. The resolution,
introduced on February 14, on the eve of Musharraf's visit, was referred
to the Committee on International Relations.
The spokesman said: "Pakistan cannot
control the thought process of non-Pakistani individuals." The provision
declaring Ahmadis as non-Muslims was included in the constitution during
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's tenure following a consensus between all political
parties.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan had
also prohibited the government from introducing any amendment of fundamental
nature in the constitution, he said.
Musharraf, the spokesman said, had
also said time and again that the government would not touch the basic
issues in the constitution. He had however hinted at changing the procedure
for the registration of cases under the blasphemy law to ensure that the
law was not misused but the government had to withdraw even from there
following a strong reaction from religious groups and parties in the country.
