Christians

Pakistani textbooks filled with hate: Study

Earlier this year a study of Pakistani public school textbooks revealed that Pakistani textbooks negatively portray religious minorities and suggest that these minorities are untrustworthy and inferior The study which was sponsored by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reviewed 78 Pakistani textbooks and discovered religiously prejudice and bias in 24 books. Mr Azhar Hussain, president and founder of Pakistan-based NGO Peace and Education Foundation (PEF) presented the report. USCIRF Chairman Robert P. George. said: “Pakistan’s public school …

Destroying Pakistan: The curse of the blasphemy law

Pakistan’s blasphemy law, which turns 30 this year, has become only more deadly with age. Since blasphemy was made a capital crime under the nation’s secular penal code, the effect has been to suppress moderate influences, pushing “Pakistani society further out on the slippery slope of extremism,” said Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, senior advocate at the Supreme Court of Pakistan, in Washington last week. With its large population and sensitive location, Pakistan is a place where any societal shift in the direction of …

Sri Lanka ends visa-free travel for Pakistanis and arrests Refugees

The Sri Lankan government has cancelled the on-arrival visa facility for Pakistanis. The decision was taken in view of the rising number of political asylum cases in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Ministry has informed the Pakistan government about its decision to revoke the facility. According to revised policy, Pakistanis seeking to visit Sri Lanka will now have to obtain visa before departing for the Island. Sri Lankan daily Ceylon Today reported last week that nearly 1,500 Pakistanis, many …

State of religious freedom in Pakistan considered “Dire”

Panelists at a religious freedom session on Pakistan called for reform of the nation’s laws, calling the situation for minorities dire. In June alone, 47 religious minorities were killed in Pakistan, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The victims included an 18-year old Christian man tortured to death by police after he was suspected of kidnapping a Muslim woman, the commission said. “Basic law enforcement and legal reform are desperately needed,” Knox Thames, director of policy and …