Human rights: ‘Extremism is political, not religious’

KARACHI:

Stakeholders only know how to order but not how to negotiate. The problems in the country cannot be solved like this, said Zohra Yusuf, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan's (HRCP) chairperson at the launch of a report on religious minorities in Pakistan.

In Pakistan, religious extremism is not a religious issue but more of a political one. Citing an example of the Christian couple who were burnt alive in Punjab, HRCP director IA Rehman stated that this is something to think about that we live in a country where people burn a couple alive, while others protest against it.

Rehman also pointed out that we should work to solve the issues within the country instead of ignoring them. Minority communities all over the world face problems but it is the duty of civilised people to highlight these issues and work towards their resolution, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2015.