Church bombing victims: SC irked over delay in compensation

K-P advocate general says federal govt, not provincial govt, has stalled payments to victims’ families.

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court has expressed concern over the delay in financial compensation to the families of the victims of bombing at All Saints Church, Peshawar. A three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Tassaduq Hussain Jillani resumed a hearing of the suo motu notice taken over the blast.

Representatives of the Christian and Hindu communities have requested the court to create an independent commission to hear complaints and put forward amendments proscribing religious discrimination and intolerance towards minority groups in the country.

During the hearing, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Advocate General Abdul Latif Yousufzai informed the court that the provincial government has paid Rs67.8 million in compensation to families of victims, but the federal government had not paid the amount announced by the prime minister.



Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt said he would seek instructions from the Prime Minister Secretariat regarding the delays in payment. The provincial AG also rejected the allegation that members of the Christian community injured in the blast are being forcibly discharged from hospitals, saying only those with minor injuries were discharged.

Latif Yousufzai said Rs200,000 was paid to those injured in the attack and Rs500,000 for the families of victims. He added that DCO Peshawar has submitted a compliance report in this regard on January 24. Regarding the security of places of worship, he said 201 police officials and 55 private officials have been deputed by the provincial government at these sites. The bench has asked other provinces to submit their replies regarding the protection of minorities’ places of worship by February 20.

Additionally, M Nadeem Sheikh and Saleem Michael submitted written requests asking the court to depute female police officers at stations in order to facilitate women from minority communities. They added that the government should repeal discriminatory laws, including the Qisas and Diyat Ordinances.

Representatives of the Christian community have also submitted a written statement saying the Christian community feels insecure because of the misuse of Section 295 (A and C) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) that deals with blasphemy. The court has asked all advocates general to submit their replies to the statements submitted.

Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, patron of the Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC) has pleaded the court to direct the law ministry to consider promulgating a law within three months regulating the registration and dissolution of Hindu marriages. He has requested the court to direct the four chief ministers to immediately appoint a registrar for the registration of Hindu marriages in every District Headquarters (DHQ) with the consultation of PHC.

A similar concise statement on behalf of the Catholic Church Lahore lamented that the sanctity of Christian marriages was often violated through kidnapping and abduction of Christian women and alleged coerced conversion of faith.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2014.