By NNN-APP,
London : The British Pakistani Christians have called for the abolition of the Blasphemy Law saying that the act has been often misused against the minority community by the unscrupulous elements to cause law and order situation.
A delegation of Pakistan Christian Alliance Europe led by councillor James Shera, a former mayor of Central English town of Rugby, met Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan and senior officials of the chancery and expressed disquiet over the violence against the Christian community in Gojra.
They underscored the importance of addressing the concerns of the Christian community and protecting their lives and property from the religious extremists who they said have used the Blasphemy law to perpetuate atrocities on them.
The delegation submitted a petition to Hasan regarding the incident at Gojra and appealed for the abolition of religious discriminatory laws 95C and restoration of 1973 Constitution.
He expressed regret over the unfortunate incident and said both the Federal and Punjab Governments have taken appropriate steps to bring the situation under control and arrested those responsible for this act.
Hasan assured the delegation of the punitive action against the perpetrators of the crime and said cases have been registered against both DCO and DPO for their failure to bring the situation under control while a large number of people have also been arrested.
He further said that he is constantly in touch with high officials in Islamabad and Lahore to expedite necessary action.
He told the delegation that the Government has already announced compensation of Rs. 500,000 each for the deceased and Rs. 300,000 each for those whose homes have been destroyed.
Hasan stressed upon building consensus among the political parties for taking steps through parliamentary process to check the misuse and abuse of article 95C of the constitution.
The delegation spoke about the contributions of the Christian community in the making of Pakistan and also in education, health and defence sectors.
They said the Christians have always remained loyal to Pakistan and also stressed on declaring preaching of hatred a culpable crime be it against religious minorities or sects within the Muslims.
The delegation said it would approach all the political parties including the religious ones to build consensus on the abolition or necessary modifications in the Blasphemy Law to create a more tolerant society in Pakistan.
He reassured the delegation that Pakistan Peoples Party has always worked for human rights and neither Islam nor any other religion permits killing of innocent people.
He further said Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah emphasised on peaceful co-existence of minorities and for providing them and other suppressed classes their due rights.
Deputy High Commissioner Asif Durrani, Minister Political Nafees Zakaria, Minister Community Welfare Salis Kiyani were also present at the meeting. The PCA delegation comprised Rev.Noble Samuel, Edgar Monet, George Lawn, Javed Iqbal and Taskeen Khan.