In the midst of the current situation in Pakistan, the US legislative assembly have urged the federal government to postpone future aid and humanitarian assistance or any sort of help until Pakistan restores its law and order. The lawmakers requested the provinces to withhold future negotiation in any kind of aid and compel the country to restore its constitutional order by conducting free and fair elections.
In a letter to state secretary Anthony Blinken, the lawmakers warned to withhold all assistance to Islamabad. Citing the issue of blasphemy, the lawmakers wrote to Blinken that the proposed changes to laws could be used to tighten further the nuances of religious exclusion from the country. The written statement of the US lawmakers further mentioned that the rigorous postponement of all future assistance to Pakistan can push them for a decisive shift toward the restoration of constitutional order, and also conduct a free and fair election.
Source: News18
People are not satisfied with the current Pakistan government and even the successive terrorist group attack in the domestic sphere has worsened the situation. As reported by Dawn, there is also a point about the new Criminal Law Amendment Bill, 2023, which has the potential to the existing blasphemy law, which, in turn, will lead to persecution of religious minorities.
The lawmakers repeatedly requested that this sort of withholding of assistance be considered as an indirect humanitarian intervention to make the current Wazir-e-azam realize that the global community is taking note of the current situation of persistent human rights violations.
Issue of Blasphemy
Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, for which even unproven allegations can provoke violence by mobs. As per the report of the Centre for Social Justice- an independent research think tank, that advocates the rights of minorities and is vocal about their deprivation, quoted more than 2000 people in Pakistan have been involved in repeated incidents of blasphemy since 1990.
The letter was written eight days after the bill was passed in Pakistan. In a paragraph, they mentioned a recent incident of a mob lynching desecrating churches and setting fires to the homes of Christians in Jaranwala. The US lawmakers also cited the people’s protest across the region of Gilgit-Baltistan, located in the PoK region.
Source: NPR
The international community showed their solidarity with the persistent religious persecution in Pakistan. As reported by News18, religious persecution has become rampant these days in Pakistan. The international community are concerned about the future restrictions and freedom over conscience and religious practices. The new bill has further fuelled the concern even for the US.
Concerns about Pakistan’s move
As per the latest report on Pakistan, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom mentioned that religious persecution is evident for the vulnerable religious minority groups in Pakistan. While blasphemy incident is very common in Pakistan, there is little evidence of any stringent steps by the successive Pakistani government. Additionally, the letter also addresses the issues of restrictions on freedom of speech and expression, religious practices, and conscience in Pakistan.
The Pakistan regime should take note of this and the world should come together against the actions of violating the fundamental rights, enshrined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1945. Referring to the case of the former PM of Pakistan Imran Khan, the lawmakers said that he could potentially face a grave punishment for breaching the Official Secrets Act.
The lawmakers urged the US Embassy in Islamabad to send observers for hearings and other legal proceedings of human rights-related court trials, including the trials of PM Khan and the human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari. The lawmakers on a final note pledged to support and corporate with Secretary Blinken in whatever way it is possible to promote human rights and to restore the stability in Pakistan.
