Author: Editorial
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: October 30, 2001
The massacre of 18 Christians in
Pakistan is yet another sign that President Pervez Musharraf is fast losing
his grip on the situation. The killings are being widely perceived as revenge
against the US bombing of neighbouring Afghanistan.
In fact, Christians were being singled
out for arson and looting since the September 11 WTC attack in New York.
Several cases of Christian persecution have been reported from different
parts of Pakistan in the past few weeks. Though President Musharraf has
been sweet-talking the Christian world into doling out financial assistance
under various pretexts, he has been callously ignoring the plight of Christians
who constitute two per cent of his country's population.
Christians have been facing the
brunt of religious intolerance in Pakistan, abetted by the leadership,
for more than 15 years. The blasphemy law enacted by former President Zia
ul Haq has been systematically used against the minorities, including the
Hindus and Christians, for years. The blasphemy law sanctions the death
sentence for speaking against the Holy Quran and Prophet Mohammad. The
law is so draconian that a person can be hanged even on mere hearsay. There
have been several cases in the recent past when Christians were hanged
to death on unverified complaints. Reports prepared by the Amnesty International
and the Human Rights Watch have spoken volumes about Christian persecution
in Pakistan, despite the fact that Christians have been living there even
before Pakistan was born. Christianity had come to the region with the
British; in the late 1800s, the Methodist Church was established in the
cities of Karachi, Quetta and Lahore, to serve the English-speaking communities
of Anglo-Indians and some British army and civilian personnel. Today the
Church of Pakistan has eight dioceses with their own bishops.There is more
than one reason for the world to condemn the killing of the devout.The
Sunday massacre should be viewed in the context of the phenomenal growth
of fundamentalist elements within Pakistan and the plight of sectarian
and religious minorities including Hindus, Christians, Baluchis, Sindhis,
Mohajirs and Shias since President Musharraf took over the country in October
1999. Rabid anti-Shia outfits like Sipah Sahaba have been executing prominent
Shia leaders and professionals for the past several months in the name
of ethnic cleansing. Sipah wields so much clout that even President Musharraf
could not muster the courage to ban it despite clear evidence stockpiled
in local police records. Sipah is closely linked to various terrorist outfits
like the Jaish-e-Mohammad, jointly spreading their network of terror and
hate across the subcontinent. It is no coincidence that Jaish chief Maulana
Azhar Masood belongs to Bhawalpur, the place where suspected Sipah activists
massacred Christians. Even President Musharraf admitted that the killers
were professionals. Only Sipah, with its close links to ISI and terrorist
outfits, have trained assassins.
President Musharraf cannot shift
the blame for the massacre to some unknown terrorist groups. Such killings-which
continue to occur on both sides of the border with alarming frequency,
masterminded by the same set of people in Pakistan, pose an immediate threat
to the peace and stability of the region.
