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Christians demand religious freedom

Priest calls for Pakistan to be made a secular state and for overhaul of constitution
Christians demand religious freedom
Anglican Bishop Michael Nazir of Rochester speaking at the conference
Published: April 14, 2011 03:58 AM GMT
Updated: April 14, 2011 03:58 AM GMT

Christian and Muslim speakers at a government-sponsored conference yesterday lauded the Church's role in peace and harmony. Liberals of both faiths urged the government to separate state from religion in the “Peace and Harmony" conference at the Alhambra Arts Council building in Lahore. The human rights and minority affairs department of Punjab province organized the event. The speakers, mostly minority leaders, demanded revisions of the constitution and school syllabus to counter increasing militancy in the country. “The country has been subjected to many experiments and now it is on the verge of collapsing. Suicide bombings and terrorism have become routine”, said Father Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, national director of Catholic Bishop’s National Commission for Justice and Peace, addressing an audience of more than 300. He recommended making Pakistan a secular state and expelling hate material from the school curriculum. There has been much criticism of textbooks in Urdu, the national language, and Islamic studies which are abundant with verses from the Qur'an which encourage jihad and depict non Muslims as enemies, he explained. Retired justice Nasira Javed disagreed with one of the speakers, a cleric, who blamed US drone attacks and the Afghan war for persecution in Pakistan. “This is no excuse to target minorities”, she said, condemning a recent constitutional amendment which made it legal for all present laws to be Islamicised. The parliament last April passed the 18th Amendment Bill which introduced a new law saying only a Muslim could become the prime minister of the country. Earlier the condition was only for the president. Hindu leaders also said construction of temples has come to a halt in the country. “Doing that would invite trouble," said a representative from the dalit Bheel community of Hindus. Anglican Bishop Michael Nazir of Rochester also pointed to the desecration last week of a bible at the cathedral in Lahore. “Catholic Bishops have set an example by forgiving the culprit. Although we condemned Jones [a US pastor who supervised the burning of a Qur'an in March] we still are facing the reaction. There is no religious freedom in the country”, he said. The burning of a Qur’an by American preacher Terry Jones sparked attacks on three churches in Pakistan and the killing of Americans and UN workers in neighboring Afghanistan. Related report Church forgives Bible desecration PA13964.1649

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