KARACHI: Hundreds of people attended on Sunday a minority rights rally in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi and called for an end to “discrimination” against minorities and the “misuse” of the country’s blasphemy laws, defying threats from a religious group.
Blasphemy, punishable by death as per Pakistani law, is a sensitive subject in conservative Muslim-majority Pakistan where mere accusations have led to street lynchings. Human rights groups say Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws are often misused to settle personal scores.
The minority rights rally in Karachi was organized in relation to the National Minorities Day, observed every year on August 11. Authorities initially denied permission for the march after an activist of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) religious group threatened in a video to disrupt it.
The participants of Sunday’s rally gathered at the Frere Hall building, with police guarding the venue and allowing access only through a single gate. Dozens of TLP activists also gathered near the Karachi Press Club, a small distance away, but were prevented by police from disrupting the event.
Luke Victor, a human rights activist from the Christian community, said some people were spreading misinformation that the minorities wanted the blasphemy laws to be abolished, calling for action against those who filed false cases and desecrated Christian places of worship.
“We did not raise the slogan to abolish or repeal the [blasphemy] law. Our slogan was that if you file a complaint, let the courts do their job. Do not burn Jaranwala, do not burn Nazir Masih,” he said, referring to mob attacks against Christians.
“Those who burned my Bible, desecrated my cross and burned my church, are these not acts of blasphemy? Register cases against them and punish them too.”

Sardar Ram Singh, a Sikh activist, said they were celebrating the day in continuation of a speech by Pakistan’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, on August 11, 1947, in which he had guaranteed religious freedoms for minorities in Pakistan.
Despite challenges, Singh expressed his love for the country and described it as the “land of our ancestors.” “Pakistan is no less than a heaven for us,” he added.
Ghazala Shafiq, a pastor, criticized the government for projecting religious tolerance, while the “ground reality was different.”
“We want this sort of Pakistan where there is no discrimination in the name of religion,” she said. “That’s what sort of impression we want to give to the world that please make such sort of policies, action plans, strategies which can create harmony.”

Nida Kirmani, another rights activist, said Jinnah in his August 11, 1947 speech had stressed that followers of every religion had an equal place in the country.
“Over the decades, that idea has been completely forgotten,” she said. “I think this day is a reminder [of that very idea].”

Also on Sunday, Pakistan’s president and prime minister promised to protect religious freedoms as the South Asian country marked the National Minorities Day.
“On this day, we reaffirm our commitment to the promise made by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, on 11th August 1947, to the country’s minorities to protect their rights and religious freedoms,” President Asif Ali Zardari said in a statement.
PM Shehbaz Sharif paid a tribute to minorities for their “outstanding role” in the country’s development and prosperity, and expressed his commitment to protecting their rights.
“The purpose of celebrating the day is to express solidarity with the minorities living in Pakistan and to acknowledge their services for the state of Pakistan,” he said.