| Jinnah
had said 'In course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims
would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense because that is the
personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of
the state'.[1]
What did we do with the vision of Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan? It is clear from our
present situation that we have destroyed the spirit of his vision. The 1973
Constitution of Pakistan also states 'All citizens before law are entitled to equal protection of law…every
citizen shall have the right to profess, practice and propagate his religion' (Article 25).
Similarly,
according to the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), ‘Everyone
is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth… without distinction of
any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.’ The
question again arises, what happened to constitutional, legal and international
laws and declarations, which were developed by Government of Pakistan and
United Nations? Unfortunately, we have violated these glorious principals at
the level of state and society.
It
is important to note that Pakistan
is signatory to international covenants and treaties. This obligation and
commitment is faithfully translated in certain articles of the Constitution of
1973. However, ‘the fine words
guaranteeing constitution safeguards to non-Muslims of Pakistan were never matched by
reality’ (Salim and Bilal 2006). Again, the question arises how to deal
with these contradictions?
This
paper will review and analyse articles of international laws, treaties and
covenants. It will explore how their spirit is translated into Pakistan’s
Constitution of 1973? Are we fulfilling the international obligations that
Government of Pakistan has made with the international community? And if not,
what measures should be taken to force the state of Pakistan to fulfill her commitments
in safeguarding the rights of non-Muslims Pakistani communities? In conclusion,
the paper will provide a set of recommendations such as repealing
discriminatory laws; reforming educational texts that go against minorities;
and provide them equal facilities to guarantee their human and personal rights.
References
Salim,
A. and Bilal, G. 2006, ‘Equal Citizens?’ Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung, Islamabad,
2006.
[1]
M. A. Jinnah’s address during Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 11 August
1947.
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