Washington, Sep 1: As a young Christian girl charged with blasphemy continued to be held in a Pakistani jail, a bipartisan group of six US Senators has asked President Asif Ali Zardari to take immediate action to release her and also address the problem of religious intolerance against Hindus.
In a letter to Zardari, the Senators said the recent cases of religious discrimination, including that of Rimsha Masih—a Christian girl with down syndrome who has been charged with blasphemy, have underscored the worsening situation for religious minorities in the country.
They also expressed concern over the condition of Hindus in the country. “Other religious freedom abuses raise further concerns about the protection of religious minorities. Hundreds of Hindus are fleeing Pakistan due to growing religious intolerance in the country,” they said.
“Among the acts alleged by Hindus leaving the country are harassment, theft, rape, kidnapping and forced conversion. Members of the Ahmadi community also continue to experience acts of murder, violence and discrimination, as do Shia Muslims,” the Senators wrote.
They called for safety and equitable treatment under the law of all Pakistanis, regardless of their religion.
With the Christian girl yet to get bail in the blasphemy case, the Senators urged Zardari to undertake a serious effort and work with the global community to address the problem of religious intolerance and end the unjust imprisonment of Rimsha.
The mere allegation against the minor girl “has forced Christians to flee her neighbourhood due to fear of retribution,” the Senators said and welcomed the efforts of Paul Bhatti, Pakistan Prime Minister's Advisor on Interfaith Harmony, to aid the girl and her family and avoid violence.
Rimsha is currently being held at the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where terrorists like Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives accused of involvement in the Mumbai attacks are also being detained.
The bail hearing of the girl, whose judicial remand was yesterday extended by a court for 14 days at the request of the police, was today postponed till Monday.
In their letter, the Senators said: “... we remain deeply concerned that the law continues to victimise innocent people. We urge your government to do more to prevent abuse, as blasphemy allegations have resulted in the lengthy detention of, and violence committed against, Christians, Ahmadis, Hindus and other religious minorities, as well as members of the Muslim majority community.”
They said that discrimination, violence and persecution on the basis of religion are a direct affront to the fundamental values of freedom and personal choice nations subscribed to as signatories to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
These violations run counter to the Pakistani Constitution and the vision of its founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, when he stated “you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan,” the Senators said.
Led by New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, the letter was signed by Senators Roy Blunt, Ben Cardin, Mark Kirk, Bob Casey and Mike Johanns.
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