PAKISTAN – Forced eviction on religious minorities due to taxes
30 June 2009 4:56 am

The
National Commission for Justice and Peace issued a statement on 3 June
2009 condemning the religious taxation on religious minorities in the
Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA). According to the
statement, many non-Muslim families have no choice but lave their land.
The
National Commission for Justice and Peace issued a statement on 3 June
2009 condemning the religious taxation on religious minorities in the
Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA). According to the
statement, many non-Muslim families have no choice but lave their land.

National Commission
for Justice and Peace (NCJP), a human rights body of the Catholic Church
in Pakistan has condemned the growing incidence of imposition of Jazia
in the extremists' controlled FATA areas of North Western Frontier
Province through a press release. Archbishop Lawrence John Saldanha,
the Chairperson and Peter Jacob, the Executive Secretary of NCJP have
called for an urgent action of the Federal and Provincial government
of NWFP to the plight of non-Muslim families who have no choice left
but to hand over the hard earned bread and butter to the extremists.  

The statement
said that the lack of safety and security for the religious minorities
especially in Orakzai, Khyber agency areas is reflected in the incidents
of harassment, religious taxation and their expulsion from these areas.
According to media this recent wave of imposing a religious tax has
come from Lashakar -e- Islam headed by Mangal Bagh and 700 families
are estimated to be affected by this illegal imposition. A silence on
the issue as grave as this is a direct threat to religious minorities
but more importantly it also jeopardizes the democratic credentials
and political system in the country.      

'Earlier
the when Taliban kidnapped Sikh citizen of Orakzai in April and Christian
and Sikh families were forced to leave Dara Adamkhel even earlier. The
government functionaries satisfied themselves by denying that the incidents
had even happened. 

We demand that
the government should make a clear stand that Pakistan was a democratic
country which could not allow such discrimination and economic injustices
to the religious minorities who are equal citizens and not a conquered
people' the statement said further. 

We also call
upon the democratic forces in the country to work to remove all discriminations
on the basis of religion and faith which are still part of the Constitution
and the political system. Such notion should be discarded once for all
by adding constitutional guarantees for non-discrimination and automatic
nullification of religion specific laws and policies, except those to
bring social justice.