Commendable SC move
Though after five-year delay, the apex court of Pakistan has finally decided to constitute a special bench for the implementation of its landmark 2014 decision regarding the protection of the fundamental and religious rights of minority communities in the country,
Hopefully, the constitution of this bench will expedite the federal and provincial governments' implementation of other recommendations in the judgement - one of the most significant works of jurisprudence on the protection of rights and religious freedoms of minority groups in Pakistan.
The SC bench will ensure compliance of the detailed 32-page judgement written by former chief justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani at the conclusion of a suo motu case pertaining to the 2013 Peshawar church bombing.
The special bench will also be free to hear complaints regarding the violation of minorities' rights, thereby opening up a channel for the resolution of their problems that have largely been drowned out in the cacophony of religious rhetoric.
The apex court verdict provided a roadmap for critical course correction by giving clear direction to the federal and provincial governments to take action under the existing laws to protect the rights of minorities, besides broadening the purview of religious freedom against the backdrop of international human rights laws, which some quarters deride as a 'Western' concept.
The verdict underscored the need for promoting a culture of social and religious tolerance, and provided eight wide-ranging recommendations, including prompt registration of criminal cases against those who desecrate places of worship; setting up of a special police force to protect places of worship; taking action against people who initiate or spread hate speech on social media; and amending school and college curricula to help promote religious tolerance.
However, as is often the case in Pakistan, if any action was taken, it was inadequate, much to the concern of religious minority groups in Pakistan. Their worries have not been misplaced, as the church attacks in Lahore (2015) and Quetta (2017), and the mob violence in Mirpurkhas and Ghotki this year, later demonstrated. It is ironic that a country founded on the principle of religious freedom as enunciated by the Quaid has done so little to protect the minority groups residing within its boundaries. Every citizen must be equally free in the eyes of the state, irrespective of his or her religious beliefs.