Despite attempts by the Pakistani government and Islamist groups to thwart protest rallies and marches, Christians in several cities came out in large numbers to mark National Minorities Day on Aug. 11, demanding an end to religious intolerance and abuse of blasphemy laws.
The government in 2009 designated Aug. 11 to acknowledge the contribution and dedication of religious minorities toward the country’s progress. The day also celebrates the historic speech of Pakistan’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, on Aug. 11, 1947, which promised to protect the rights of minorities like Christians, Hindus and Sikhs.
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Claiming ‘foreign conspiracy’
This year, however, the marches by Christians faced fierce opposition from Islamist groups, particularly the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), Sunni Tehreek and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F). These parties alleged that the rallies organized by the Christians were a “foreign conspiracy” seeking the abolition of the blasphemy laws.
In Lahore, capital of Punjab Province, police thwarted a 24-hour hunger strike camp announced by the Rawadari Tehreek (Movement for Equality) outside the Punjab Assembly.
“We had planned to start the hunger strike camp on Aug. 10 and culminate it with a rally on Aug. 11, but on Saturday evening a large police contingent blocked the National Council of Churches in Pakistan (NCCP) premises where we had congregated and refused to let us out,” Rawadari Tehreek’s Chairman Samson Salamat told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
Salamat said that senior police and security officials forced them to defer the hunger strike and gave them conditional permission to form a rally in front of the Lahore Press Club on Sunday (Aug. 11) instead of the planned venue of the Punjab Assembly.
“The police also beat up some of our members and detained two senior leaders at a police station for over eight hours,” he said. “They cited threats from the TLP and other extremist outfits as reasons for the curbs, but we told them that instead of surrendering to these groups, they should ensure the writ of the state and ensure our protection.”
Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written and originally published by Morning Star News.
