ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said the courts in Pakistan have always been cognisant of the rights of minorities and have delivered judgments to enforce, implement, and address issues faced by minorities in the country.
The CJP stated this while meeting an eight-member delegation of the Sikh community at the Supreme Court building, here on Thursday.
Justice Bandial briefed the delegation about the rights of minorities as enshrined in the 1973 Constitution.
He said: “In Pakistan, every citizen has the right to profess and practice their respective faiths,” adding the courts in Pakistan as the custodian of the fundamental rights of the people, have always been cognisant of the rights of minorities and have delivered judgments to enforce, implement, and address issues faced by minorities in Pakistan.
He stated that considerable strides have been made to safeguard the religious properties of the minorities, in particular the Christian and Hindu communities.
The delegation apprised the chief justice about the Sikh history and various issues, including the security and protection of their religious properties.
He termed the safeguarding of minorities’ rights as the fundamental duty of the state and assured the delegates of taking up the matter with the concerned authorities. He stressed a collective resolve and effort to address the prevailing myriad challenges being faced by the country.
Meanwhile, Haroonur Rashid, Vice-Chairman and Hassan Raza Pasha, Chairman Executive Committee of the Pakistan Bar Council in a statement, strongly condemned the incident of ransacking and torching of four churches and a number of residences of members of the Christian community as well as the office of the local assistant commissioner by a violent mob of hundreds followed by an alleged incident of blasphemy in Jaranwala.
They have expressed their great grief and sorrow on this heinous and terrible incident and said that attacks on minorities have drastically increased day by day and expressed that such like people have nothing to do with Islam, where crowds are provoked on religious sentiments to settle personal scores and dispense mob justice.
They expressed their deep concerns about this incident and said that it is the utter failure of the government and law enforcement agencies to protect non-Muslim citizens/minorities of Pakistan. They demanded that all possible steps/measures should be taken for the safety and security of the minorities and foolproof security to all the religious places should be ensured, throughout the country, so that such incidents may not happen in future. They said minorities have equal rights and are equal citizens of Pakistan.
They further expressed that this incident has frightened the Christian community across the country and the government should provide protection to those persons/families who have shifted from the area after this incident and bring them back to their homes.
They urged the government to compensate all the victims for the loss of their properties and also reconstruct all the churches which have been damaged because of this incident. They have also demanded from the caretaker provincial as well as federal governments and all the relevant stakeholders to immediately identify the assailants and the persons involved in this incident and they must be awarded exemplary punishment as per law.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023