LAHORE: Speakers at a peace and solidarity rally organised by Aman Itehad on Saturday urged the government to abolish all parallel judicial systems, saying that they were used to exploit minorities, women and children.
They said that there was a need to frame laws to protect the rights of minorities. They demanded that the Federal Shariat Court be abolished as it served no purpose.
The rally started from the General Post Office (GPO) chowk and ended at Charing Cross, opposite the Assembly Hall. Similar rallies were organised by the Aman Ittehad in 108 cities across the country at the same time.
The rally was led by Supreme Court Bar Association president Asma Jahangir. Khawar Mumtaz from Shirkat Gah, Bushra Khaliq from Women Workers Helpline and Mohammad Tahseen and Irfan Mufti from South Asia Partnership-Pakistan were also present.
Speakers stressed that the government must protect the rights of all citizens regardless of their religious beliefs. They said that the human rights track record of all Pakistani governments had been disappointing. True democracy, the speakers said, could only take shape if equal rights were given to all citizens.
Addressing the rally, Jahangir said there was a need to strengthen institutions instead of anti-peace elements. She said that justice could only be provided to everyone without discrimination if the judiciary was empowered to take decisions in accordance with the constitution.
She opposed military operations in Balochistan, saying that promoting peace should be the foremost priority of the state.
Addressing the rally, Bushra Khaliq said that people who exploited women should be given the harshest possible punishments.
She said that people needed to come together to fight religious extremism.
Irfan Mufti said that the rally should be organised every year to remind the people of their responsibility to promote peace.
Jahangir read out the
following demands during the rally:
“The parliament must frame all laws and oversee their implementation so as to protect citizens, particularly the poor and the marginalized, from oppression.
“The state must protect the rights of all its citizens through the provision of justice and the rule of law that holds people, particularly the powerful, accountable for their acts and omissions.
“A social contract must be framed between citizens, and between citizens and the state. All laws and mechanisms for their implementation must be in harmony with this document and all conflicting laws must be repealed.
“All policies, international and inter-provincial relationships, must conform to the collective will of the people expressed as the social contract.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2011.
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