Safeguarding rights : ‘State must protect minority groups’

Government should constitute a judicial commission to probe the blasphemy, says AWAM

FAISALABAD:

HomeNet Pakistan district action committee and Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM) on Sunday said the government should constitute a judicial commission to probe the blasphemy and subsequent violence in Kasur without delay and the findings of the commission be made public.

Speaking at a press conference, AWAM Executive Director Nazia Sardar, Awami Workers Party General Secretary Arif Ayaz and Lady Health Workers Association leader Suraiya Waseer expressed concern over the burning of the Christian couple at Kot Radha Kishan.

“The Christian citizens in neighbouring villages has fled the area for fear of their safety. The police arrested many suspects, but the main accused is still at large,” Sardar said.

They criticised police for failing to rescue the couple.

“The government has failed to protect minority groups being targeted through exploitation of blasphemy laws,” they said.

“The government must take measures to stop the misuse of blasphemy laws through reforming it,” they added.

They demanded that the government take steps to ensure safety and security of the family of the deceased. They said minorities had been suffering under discriminatory laws formed by weak governments seeking to consolidate their rule by pandering to the extreme Right. They said it was time that minorities were brought to mainstream politics to end their plight.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2014.