CHARSADDA, Pakistan (UCAN) -- A Pakistani priest long involved in human development says his homeland, which marks its 60th anniversary as an independent nation this year, is in dire straits.

Father Bonnie Mendes, 71, has witnessed firsthand many of the political, religious and social problems his country is facing.

Apart from his years in Manila as executive secretary of the Office for Human Development of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (1979-1983), the priest of Faisalabad diocese has experienced decades of military dictatorship and troubled democracy, and all that minorities in Pakistan face.

Since 1984, Father Mendes has been director of the Catholic Church's Human Development Centre in Toba Tek Singh, Punjab province. He has also served as executive secretary of the National Justice and Peace Commission (1985-1995).

In this commentary, the priest says Pakistan is in a state of crisis. He expresses concern about the security situation after the military government of President General Pervez Musharraf dismissed Chief Justice Iftikhar M. Chaudhry on March 9, allegedly for corruption. That move led to violence on the streets as lawyers protested what they claimed had been an abuse of power.

Father Mendes says he particularly worries about the unchecked growth of Muslim militants who are threatening not just religious minorities but also the freedoms of Muslims, the majority community. On April 1, he personally witnessed an attack on Christians in his own parish, and he has met Christians in Charsadda town, North West Frontier Province, who in early May were threatened with death if they refused to convert to Islam or leave town.

Father Mendes admits the Church is not without its own faults, but he urges the Church to pull itself together in the face of the deteriorating situation.

Father Mendes sent the following commentary to UCA News in late May:

When one talks with ordinary people about the current situation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, almost everybody seems to say it has hit rock bottom. When we sink further, one friend rightly told me, we will see the past as much better, even though most say the past was very bad and rock bottom.

The failure of the country is talked about openly, despite the government constantly telling national media that the economy is improving. It paints a bright picture, to help people forget the crisis.

People know the cost of living is high and do not believe foreign exchange reserves have grown as claimed. In any case, they ask, what difference would that make if the cost of living is beyond their means? Foreign investors are coming in but the poor do not feel any improvements.

Pakistan has had some economic and social exchange programs with its neighbors, but the speed of exchange is generally slow, and trade is not growing at a remarkable pace. The nation's options are certainly drying up.

The war in Afghanistan and the rise of the former Afghan regime, the Taliban, is regarded as the product of policies in Pakistan. Most fear that our country is a hotbed where evils are nurtured.

The May 12 killings in Karachi, our largest city, left the nation in shock. Some private TV channels showed the pictures live, a terrible scene for the nation to witness. Forty people were killed and more than 100 injured in shooting between supporters of President Pervez Musharraf and those of suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar M. Chaudhry. With such publicly viewed scenes, even in national media, everybody is asking: Where are we heading?

The government has its hands full. The chief justice issue looms large since he was forcefully suspended in March. Many lawyers and others support him. Various signs of ethical decay, with unethical practices, are growing daily. Corruption means not only giving money to get something done. It involves all sorts of foul practices, such as exporting human kidneys, human trafficking, bribe-taking by government officials, selling government land, and army officers occupying important posts, thereby not allowing civilian officers to rise despite their competence, experience and service.

Those involved in these corrupt practices are definitely not the illiterate but educated people who are treading the wrong path.

However, an even larger evil looms on the horizon. Groups of religious extremists have forcibly occupied a children's library in Islamabad since January, following the demolition of seven mosques built illegally there.

This led to confrontation between the clerics of Lal Masjid, the Red Mosque, and the government. The clerics issued a fatwa (Islamic ruling in religious matters) against what they call un-Islamic practices, such as renting compact discs, dancing, listening to music and women not wearing the veil. Video and music shops have been threatened with closure, and a few shops in North West Frontier Province have been bombed. Law and order is extremely fragile.

The challenges for Christians are no less. Christians in Charsadda, North West Frontier Province, were given threatening notices to convert to Islam within days or face death. The authorities took the threat lightly and told everybody to remain calm. However, other threats in the province were followed by bombs or suicide attacks.

When I began a visit to Charsadda on May 23, I tried contacting not only Christians but some Muslim friends in the province. I could clearly see two sets of reactions in almost all the Christians. For the younger, fear combined with anger, while older people desired to negotiate and calm things down.

I advised all of them to remain courageous, and I assured them that the whole Church, not only in Pakistan but also abroad, was praying for them. I also tried to ensure that they do not become divided.

From the start, the police have been trying to close the situation without identifying the culprits. Their statements to the local press downplaying the threat may be good, but the threat cannot be taken lightly, judging from the other threats and seeing that the video shops have been blown up.

Church leaders have tried to contact various authorities about the threats and have been given some assurance. But is that enough? The bishops and other Church leaders feel hard pressed and do not know how to respond to such a complicated question. I hope they will develop a strong ecumenical stand and make a clear statement of our rights as Christians in the country. If the Christians of Charsadda are left to struggle in isolation, we soon will have other threats, and Christians will suffer more at the hands of extremists.

The Church faces its own internal problems. Formation programs in Pakistan have not paid enough dividends and there is a gradual dropout of clergy and Religious. Some laypeople have failed badly, and even robbed the Church.

According to several people, the level of dedicated service to the Church has dropped drastically. Ecumenism, which was growing over past decades, has been forgotten. New splinter Churches are cropping up, and lame excuses often are given for lost opportunities to help people get jobs and scholarships.

False blasphemy cases have been registered in a rush by police these last two months in Lahore, Kotri and Toba Tek Singh, my own parish. The blasphemy laws have caused much worry for poor Christians. One can be threatened with blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad for no rhyme or reason and can be sentenced to death under the Pakistan Penal Code. The police clearly can be bullied by the extremists. However, we Christians are not taking a strong, united stand.

President Musharraf has repeatedly and openly said that religious extremism is Pakistan's greatest threat. So, even the government acknowledges the threat but it remains to be seen how it will crush this force. Treading a new path means crushing extremism, but that is not easy because the extremists are not only armed but also have a fixed mindset that will not be easy to change.

One wonders where to turn for solutions. Some newspaper columnists write openly that religion is a personal affair that should not be the state's concern. They see secular democracy as the only hope for Pakistan.

Some consider NGOs as a sign of hope, but a sign of hope for others is the lawyers' movement supporting the Chief Justice of Pakistan, who refused to resign despite the pressure of the government.

People want to leave the country and go abroad, but they cannot do so because foreign governments have become wary about Pakistanis in general.

For the poor, elections are no solution. The poor invariably say whoever comes into power cannot manage this crisis. The question is whether we can overcome it and tread a new path of secularism, enlightenment and common sense.

Will Pakistan descend into total chaos? Or can a new social contract develop with the country, a new opportunity to play a role in the comity of nations?

END

(Accompanying photos available at here)