Secondo un rapporto del 2024 intitolato Pakistan, Education System, Curriculum and Eu Funding, redatto da Sallux/Ecpm (European Christian Political Movement), tra il 2016 e il 2024, l’Unione europea ha speso più di 150 milioni di euro per l’istruzione in Pakistan.
Questo report contiene oltre 40 pagine di brani scelti e immagini tratti da libri di testo scolastici che dimostrano come le opinioni espresse nei programmi di studio ufficiali del Pakistan non sono compatibili con i valori dell’Ue espressi nella sua Carta dei Diritti Fondamentali.
Il Sistema di Preferenze Generalizzate Plus (Spg+) dell’Unione europea incoraggia i Paesi in via di sviluppo (come il Pakistan) a perseguire uno sviluppo sostenibile e una buona governance. I Paesi ammissibili devono attuare 27 convenzioni internazionali in materia di “diritti umani, diritti dei lavoratori, ambiente e buona governance”.
Attualmente, l’Ue è il secondo partner commerciale più importante del Pakistan e due anni fa rappresentava il 15,3 per cento del commercio totale del Paese. Il Pakistan è uno dei principali beneficiari delle opportunità commerciali offerte dal Sistema di Preferenze Generalizzate (Spg) dell’Unione europea. Dal 1° gennaio 2014, il Pakistan beneficia di generose preferenze tariffarie (per lo più dazi nulli su due terzi di tutte le categorie di prodotti) nell’ambito del cosiddetto sistema Spg+.
L’evento, tenutosi presso la sede delle Nazioni Unite, intitolato “Diritti Umani in Pakistan: Istruzione sotto assedio – Ideologia, Intolleranza ed Erosione dei Diritti umani in Pakistan”, ha messo in luce il sistema educativo islamico estremista del Paese e le sue crescenti violazioni dei diritti umani. È stato organizzato da Cap Freedom of Conscience, una Ong francese con status consultivo speciale presso le Nazioni Unite, Human Rights Without Frontiers (Hrwf) e Global Human Rights Defense (Ghrd).
L’ex commissario europeo Ján Figeľ, nonché primo rappresentante speciale dell’Ue per la promozione della libertà di religione o credo al di fuori dell’Unione europea, ha affermato nel suo discorso programmatico che “le strutture costituzionali e penali del Pakistan, in particolare le leggi sulla blasfemia, sono particolarmente dure e alimentano una discriminazione diffusa”.
Figeľ ha citato un caso in cui i religiosi islamici pakistani hanno costretto un docente universitario, Sher Ali, a rinunciare pubblicamente all’insegnamento di una serie di credenze e idee in contraddizione con la legge islamica. Una di queste idee era la teoria dell’evoluzione di Charles Darwin. Nel 2022, l’esplosione di una bomba magnetica collocata sotto la sua auto costrinse Ali a rimanere su una sedia a rotelle per mesi.
“Il Pakistan è il maggiore beneficiario dell’Spg+, ma la situazione dei diritti umani non è migliorata di molto”, ha affermato Figel’. “L’Ue deve rivalutare il prezzo di questo silenzio”.
Il suo appello è stato appoggiato da Willy Fautré, direttore di Human Rights Without Frontiers. “Questa non è istruzione, è coercizione ideologica”, ha dichiarato Fautré. “È in gioco la credibilità dell’Ue. Se l’Europa vuole continuare ad essere un attore importante in materia di diritti umani deve garantire che i fondi pubblici non consentano l’erosione del pluralismo e della libertà accademica”.
Fautré ha rilevato: “Accettando di fatto questa situazione e non sanzionando la mancata attuazione dell’Spg+ da parte del Pakistan, l’Ue ha fatto un uso improprio del denaro dei contribuenti europei e ha perso la sua credibilità come potenza commerciale guidata da valori umani”.
Fautré ha elencato alcune delle “costanti e gravi violazioni dei diritti umani che sono rimaste immutate per 10 anni”, tra cui l’invenzione di casi di blasfemia contro cristiani, ahmadi e altre minoranze religiose; atti di violenza e violenze di massa contro membri di comunità religiose minoritarie; e il radicamento di scuole coraniche (madrase), fari di indottrinamento ed estremismo, che sfuggono al controllo dello Stato.
Uno degli argomenti principali affrontati dai relatori è stato il “Programma di studi nazionale unico (Snc)”, introdotto nel 2020 nelle scuole pubbliche pakistane.
“Il programma ha suscitato forti critiche da parte di esperti in materia di istruzione e difensori dei diritti umani per la sua mancanza di inclusività, l’eccessiva enfasi sui contenuti religiosi islamici a scapito delle minoranze religiose, l’ideologia subliminale della supremazia islamica e la scarsa pedagogia”, ha osservato Fautré.
Anche l’organizzazione per i diritti umani Open Doors, nel suo rapporto del 2024, ha fatto riferimento alla “cultura sempre più islamizzante” e al sistema educativo del Pakistan.
L’introduzione di un “Programma di studi nazionale unico” nelle scuole denigra le minoranze religiose e impone l’insegnamento del Corano e di materie come matematica e scienze in modo islamizzato. Così, la religione permea l’educazione scolastica, dividendo bambini e famiglie. I gruppi islamici radicali stanno proliferando (…) e vengono usati come alleati da vari gruppi politici.
Inna Chefranova, direttrice Esecutiva della Piattaforma europea di Facilitazione, ha parlato della difficile situazione delle ragazze appartenenti a minoranze religiose, vittime di rapimenti, conversioni forzate e “matrimoni” forzati. Ha citato il caso di una 13enne cattolica, Arzoo Raja, rapita, convertita all’Islam e costretta a sposare un uomo più anziano nel 2020, illustrando le conseguenze del sistema giudiziario e scolastico pakistano.
“L’Ue non può continuare a garantire i privilegi dell’Spg+ finché persiste un abuso sistemico. Il monitoraggio senza l’applicazione delle misure di controllo non aiuta le vittime”, ha affermato Chefranova. “L’istruzione dovrebbe essere uno strumento di inclusione, non di indottrinamento. Finché le riforme non saranno attuate, il sostegno dovrebbe essere subordinato a progressi misurabili”.
Nel corso dell’evento è stato condiviso anche un messaggio registrato dell’eurodeputato Bert-Jan Ruissen, copresidente dell’intergruppo dell’Ue sulla libertà di religione o di credo.
“Finanziamo l’istruzione in Pakistan, ma non ci assumiamo la responsabilità di ciò che quell’istruzione insegna. Questo è inaccettabile”, ha osservato Ruissen.
Un’indagine del 2024 condotta da Ruissen sulla Commissione europea ha confermato che il denaro dei contribuenti dell’Ue era stato stanziato in favore di “seminari religiosi” in Pakistan. Facendo riferimento all’indagine, Ruissen ha chiesto un intervento parlamentare. Ha rilevato che “l’Unione europea deve integrare queste preoccupazioni nella prossima revisione dell’Spg+. Non possiamo sovvenzionare l’odio e l’esclusione”.
Di conseguenza, l’Ue favorisce un programma discriminatorio ed estremista che porta a un’ulteriore islamizzazione della popolazione pakistana. L’Unione europea sostiene inoltre l’oppressione di tutti coloro che nel Paese non sono islamisti e una cultura violenta che viene trasportata in Europa attraverso l’immigrazione di massa. Purtroppo, sembra che l’Ue sia diventata, in una certa misura, un catalizzatore dell’islamizzazione, sia nel Vecchio Continente che altrove.
Između 2016. i 2024. godine EU izdvojila je više od 150 milijuna eura za obrazovanje u Pakistanu. Ta informacija objavljena je u izvješću iz 2024. godine pod nazivom Pakistan, obrazovni sustav, kurikulum i financiranje EU-a, koje je sastavio Europski kršćanski politički pokret (Sallux/ECPM). Izvješće ECPM-a sadrži više od 40 stranica isječaka i slika iz pakistanskih udžbenika. Ti materijali pokazuju da stavovi u službenom kurikulumu Pakistana nisu usklađeni s vrijednostima Europske unije navedenima u Povelji o temeljnim pravima.
Zlouporaba novca poreznih obveznika Europske unije otkrivena je tijekom skupa u sjedištu Ujedinjenih naroda u Ženevi. Taj je događaj održan u sklopu nedavne 58. sjednice Vijeća za ljudska prava UN-a.
EU-ov Opći sustav preferencijalnih carina Plus (GSP+) potiče zemlje u razvoju, poput Pakistana, da promiču održivi razvoj i dobro upravljanje. Kako bi ostvarile pravo na te pogodnosti, zemlje moraju provesti 27 međunarodnih konvencija koje se odnose na ljudska prava, prava radnika, zaštitu okoliša i transparentno upravljanje.
EU je drugi najvažniji trgovinski partner Pakistana
Europska unija trenutačno je drugi najvažniji trgovinski partner Pakistana, budući da je prije dvije godine činila 15,3 % ukupne pakistanske trgovine. Pakistan je jedan od glavnih korisnika pogodnosti koje nudi GSP+ program, a od 1. siječnja 2014. uživa povlaštene carinske stope – uglavnom bez carina – na oko dvije trećine svih kategorija proizvoda.
Događaj u sjedištu Ujedinjenih naroda pod nazivom Ljudska prava u Pakistanu: Obrazovanje pod opsadom – ideologija, netolerancija i urušavanje ljudskih prava u Pakistanu usmjerio je pozornost na stanje obrazovanja u toj zemlji. Posebno je istaknuta uloga islamskog ekstremizma u obrazovnom sustavu te sve ozbiljnija kršenja ljudskih prava.
Organizirali su ga CAP Freedom of Conscience, francuska nevladina organizacija koja ima poseban savjetodavni status pri Ujedinjenim narodima, Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF) i Global Human Rights Defense (GHRD).
Bivši povjerenik Europske unije Ján Figeľ, koji je ujedno bio prvi posebni izaslanik EU-a za promicanje slobode vjeroispovijesti izvan Unije, održao je glavni govor na skupu. U njemu je istaknuo da su pakistanski ustavni i kazneni zakoni, osobito oni o bogohuljenju, iznimno strogi te da potiču raširenu diskriminaciju.
EU podržava Pakistan unatoč kršenju ljudskih prava
Figeľ je naveo primjer sveučilišnog profesora Sher Alija. Pakistanski islamski klerici prisilili su ga da se javno odrekne poučavanja određenih ideja, jer su ih smatrali suprotnima islamskom zakonu. Među tim idejama bila je i Darwinova teorija evolucije. Godine 2022., Alijev automobil bio je meta napada magnetskom bombom, zbog čega je mjesecima bio u invalidskim kolicima.
„Pakistan je najveći korisnik GSP+ povlastica, a ipak se vrlo malo učinilo u pogledu poboljšanja ljudskih prava,” rekao je. „EU mora preispitati cijenu svoje šutnje.”
Njegov apel podržao je i Willy Fautré, direktor Human Rights Without Frontiers. „Ovo nije obrazovanje, ovo je ideološka prisila,” rekao je Fautré. „U pitanju je vjerodostojnost EU-a. Ako Europa želi ostati akter u području ljudskih prava, mora osigurati da javna sredstva ne omogućuju urušavanje pluralizma i akademske slobode.”
Fautré je naglasio: „Prihvaćanjem ovakve situacije de facto i propuštanjem sankcioniranja Pakistana zbog neprovedbe GSP+ mehanizama, EU je zloupotrijebila novac europskih poreznih obveznika. Također je izgubila vjerodostojnost kao trgovačka sila vođena ljudskim vrijednostima.”
Fautré je naveo neka od „uporno teških kršenja ljudskih prava koja se nisu promijenila već deset godina”. To uključuje lažno optuživanje kršćana, Ahmadija i drugih vjerskih manjina za bogohuljenje. Također, spomenuo je djela nasilja i nasilje gomile protiv pripadnika manjinskih vjerskih zajednica, te postojanje madrasa, žarišta indoktrinacije i ekstremizma, koje su izvan kontrole države.
U Pakistanu se provodi islamizacija obrazovnog sustava
Jedna od glavnih tema bila je tzv. Jedinstveni nacionalni kurikulum (SNC), uveden 2020. godine u državnim školama u Pakistanu.
„Kurikulum je naišao na oštre kritike stručnjaka za obrazovanje i branitelja ljudskih prava zbog nedostatka inkluzivnosti i prekomjernog naglaska na islamskom vjerskom sadržaju na štetu vjerskih manjina. Također, kritiziran je zbog prikrivene ideologije islamske nadmoćnosti i loše pedagogije.” istaknuo je Fautré.
Organizacija za ljudska prava Open Doors također se u svom izvješću iz 2024. godine osvrnula na “sve izraženiju islamizaciju kulture” i obrazovnog sustava u Pakistanu:
“Uvođenje ‘Jedinstvenog nacionalnog kurikuluma’ u školama ponižava vjerske manjine i nameće poučavanje Kurana te predmeta poput matematike i znanosti na način koji favorizira islam. Time religija prožima obrazovni sustav, stvarajući podjele među djecom i obiteljima. Radikalne islamske skupine jačaju i koriste se kao saveznici različitih političkih skupina.”
EU ignorira nasilje prema vjerskim manjinama u Pakistanu
Inna Chefranova, izvršna direktorica Europske platforme za olakšavanje dijaloga, govorila je o djevojčicama iz vjerskih manjina koje su otete, prisilno preobraćene na islam i prisilno udane. Navela je primjer 13-godišnje katolkinje Arzoo Raje, koja je 2020. godine oteta, preobraćena na islam i prisilno udana za starijeg muškarca, čime je ilustrirala negativne posljedice pakistanskog pravosudnog i obrazovnog sustava.
„EU ne može nastaviti pružati privilegije GSP+ dok sustavna zlostavljanja i dalje traju. Nadzor bez stvarne provedbe ne štiti žrtve,“ izjavila je Chefranova. „Obrazovanje bi trebalo biti alat za uključivanje, a ne indoktrinaciju. Dok se ne provedu reforme, podrška bi trebala biti uvjetovana mjerljivim napretkom.“
Tijekom događaja prikazana je i snimljena poruka zastupnika Europskog parlamenta Bert-Jana Ruissena, supredsjedatelja Međuskupine EU-a za slobodu vjeroispovijesti.
“Financiramo obrazovanje u Pakistanu, a ipak odbacujemo odgovornost za ono što to obrazovanje prenosi. To je neprihvatljivo,” istaknuo je Ruissen.
EU sudjeluje u financiranju islamizacije pakistanskog obrazovnog sustava
U svom upitu Europskoj komisiji iz 2024. godine, Ruissen je potvrdio da je novac poreznih obveznika EU-a korišten za financiranje “vjerskih sjemeništa” u Pakistanu. Pozivajući se na tu informaciju, zatražio je parlamentarnu akciju. Istaknuo je da “EU mora uzeti ove zabrinutosti u obzir prilikom nadolazeće revizije GSP+. Ne možemo subvencionirati mržnju i isključivost.”
Kao rezultat toga, EU omogućuje diskriminatorni i ekstremistički kurikulum koji vodi daljnjoj islamizaciji pakistanskog stanovništva. EU također podržava ugnjetavanje svih onih u zemlji koji nisu islamisti. Time se potiče nasilna kultura koja se prenosi i u Europu putem masovne migracije. Nažalost, čini se da je EU, do određene mjere, postala suučesnik islamizacije i na Starom kontinentu i izvan njega, prenosi The European Conservative.
Entre 2016 et 2024, l’Union européenne a versé plus de 150 millions d’euros pour soutenir l’éducation au Pakistan. Un soutien financier massif aujourd’hui remis en question, tant le système éducatif pakistanais, fondé sur l’idéologie islamiste et l’intolérance, contrevient aux principes mêmes que prétend défendre Bruxelles.
C’est à l’occasion de la 58e session du Conseil des droits de l’homme de l’ONU, à Genève, qu’un rapport édifiant a été présenté, jetant une lumière crue sur la manière dont des fonds européens ont alimenté, sous couvert d’aide au développement, la propagation d’un enseignement hostile à la liberté religieuse, aux minorités et à la pluralité des idées.
Un rapport accablant pour Bruxelles
Le rapport, intitulé Pakistan, système éducatif, programme scolaire et financement de l’UE, rédigé par la fondation Sallux/ECPM (Mouvement politique chrétien européen), s’appuie sur plus de 40 pages de manuels scolaires pakistanais. Il met en évidence une réalité glaçante : l’éducation nationale pakistanaise enseigne une idéologie fondée sur la suprématie islamique, marginalisant les minorités religieuses et réprimant la pensée critique, au mépris des droits fondamentaux.
Parmi les exemples cités, celui du professeur Sher Ali, contraint par des mollahs à renier publiquement certaines notions scientifiques comme la théorie de Darwin, jugées contraires à l’islam. Victime d’un attentat à la bombe en 2022, il est désormais en fauteuil roulant.
Une hypocrisie européenne dénoncée
Depuis 2014, le Pakistan bénéficie du programme GSP+, qui lui permet d’exporter massivement vers l’UE en franchise de droits de douane, à condition de respecter 27 conventions internationales sur les droits humains. Or, selon les intervenants, ces engagements ne sont absolument pas tenus.
« Le Pakistan est le premier bénéficiaire du GSP+, mais ses violations des droits humains persistent depuis une décennie », a dénoncé Ján Figeľ, ancien commissaire européen et envoyé spécial pour la liberté religieuse. Il appelle à une révision en profondeur du partenariat.
Même son de cloche du côté de Willy Fautré, directeur de Human Rights Without Frontiers : « Ce que l’Union européenne finance n’est pas de l’éducation, c’est de la coercition idéologique. En continuant à verser des fonds sans condition, elle trahit les principes qu’elle prétend incarner. »
Une éducation utilisée comme outil d’endoctrinement
Le cœur du problème réside dans le programme national unique (SNC), imposé en 2020 dans toutes les écoles publiques pakistanaises. Ce programme impose une islamisation de l’ensemble des matières, y compris les mathématiques et les sciences. Il exclut les autres religions, renforce l’endoctrinement islamique et accentue les divisions communautaires.
Le rapport évoque également la prolifération des madrassas, ces écoles coraniques largement incontrôlées par l’État, où l’enseignement est souvent extrémiste et hostile aux valeurs occidentales.
Au-delà du système éducatif, c’est l’ensemble de la politique européenne vis-à-vis du Pakistan qui est mise en accusation. Inna Chefranova, directrice de la European Facilitation Platform, a rappelé le cas tragique d’Arzoo Raja, une jeune catholique de 13 ans enlevée, convertie de force à l’islam et mariée à un homme bien plus âgé, avec la bénédiction de la justice pakistanaise.
« L’UE ne peut continuer à offrir des avantages commerciaux sans condition. Le silence européen cautionne l’oppression », a-t-elle martelé.
Même Bert-Jan Ruissen, eurodéputé et coprésident du groupe interparlementaire sur la liberté religieuse, a dénoncé la complicité implicite de Bruxelles. Il a révélé que des fonds européens ont même été versés à des séminaires religieux, et appelle désormais à une action parlementaire.
L’enseignement promu au Pakistan ne s’arrête pas aux frontières du pays. À travers l’immigration, une partie de cette idéologie importée prolifère sur le sol européen. En tolérant, voire en finançant ces dérives, l’Union européenne prend le risque d’alimenter, à terme, l’islamisation de ses propres sociétés.
Crédit photo : DR (photo d’illustration) [cc] Breizh-info.com, 2025, dépêches libres de copie et de diffusion sous réserve de mention et de lien vers la source d’origine
The bloc has “lost its credibility as a commercial power guided by human values,” human rights activist said.
Between 2016 and 2024, the European Union spent upwards of €150 million on education in Pakistan, according to a 2024 report entitled Pakistan, Education System, Curriculum and EU Funding,authoredby Sallux/ECPM (the European Christian Political Movement).
The ECPM report contains over 40 pages of excerpts and pictures from textbooks which show that the views expressed in Pakistan’s official curriculum are not compatible with the EU values expressed in its Charter of Fundamental Rights.
This misuse of EU taxpayers’ money was revealed at a gathering at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva during the recent 58th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.
The EU’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) encourages developing countries (such as Pakistan) to pursue sustainable development and good governance. Eligible countries must implement 27 international conventions on “human rights, labor rights, the environment and good governance”.
The EU is currently Pakistan’s second most important trading partner as, two years ago, it accounted for 15.3% of Pakistan’s total trade. Pakistan is a major beneficiary of the trading opportunities offered by the EU’s GSP. Since January 1, 2014, Pakistan has benefited from generous tariff preferences (mostly zero duties on two-thirds of all product categories) under the so-called GSP+ arrangement.
The event at UN headquarters, titled “Human Rights in Pakistan: Education Under Siege—Ideology, Intolerance, and the Erosion of Human Rights in Pakistan,” spotlighted the country’s Islamic extremist education system and its escalating human rights abuses. It was organized by CAP Freedom of Conscience, a French NGO with special consultative status to the UN, Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF), and Global Human Rights Defense (GHRD).
Former EU Commissioner Ján Figeľ, also the first EU Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Relief outside the EU, said in his keynote address that “Pakistan’s constitutional and penal structures—particularly the blasphemy laws—are uniquely harsh and foster widespread discrimination.”
Figeľ cited a case where Pakistani Islamic clerics forced a college professor, Sher Ali, to publicly renounce teaching a number of beliefs and ideas as against Islamic law. One such idea was Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. In 2022, Ali’s car was attacked with a magnetic bomb, leaving him in a wheelchair for months.
“Pakistan is the largest beneficiary of GSP+ preferences, yet there has been little improvement in human rights,” he said. “ The EU must reassess the cost of this silence.”
His call was backed by Willy Fautré, Director of Human Rights Without Frontiers. “This is not education—it is ideological coercion,” Fautré said. “The EU’s credibility is at stake. If Europe is to remain a human rights actor, it must ensure that public funds do not enable the erosion of pluralism and academic freedom.”
By accepting de facto this situation and by failing to sanction Pakistan’s non-implementation of the GSP+, the EU has misused the money of the EU taxpayers and has lost its credibility as a commercial power guided by human values.”
Fautré listed some of the “persistent egregious human rights violations that have remained unchanged for 10 years,” including the fabrication of blasphemy cases against Christians, Ahmadis, and other religious minorities; acts of violence and mob violence against members of minority religious communities; and the persistence of madrassah religious schools, beacons of indoctrination and extremism, which are out of control of the state.
Akey topic addressed by speakers was the ‘Single National Curriculum (SNC),’” which was introduced in 2020 in Pakistani state schools.
“[The curriculum] drew strong criticisms from education experts and human rights defenders for its lack of inclusivity, the over-emphasis on Islamic religious content at the expense of religious minorities, the subliminal ideology of Islamic supremacy and poor pedagogy,” Fautré noted.
The human rights organization Open Doors also referred in its 2024 report to Pakistan’s “increasingly Islamizing culture” and educational system:
The introduction of a ‘Single National Curriculum’ in schools denigrates religious minorities and enforces the teaching of the Quran and subjects like Mathematics and Science in an Islamized manner. Thus, religion is permeating school education, dividing children and families. Radical Islamic groups are flourishing … and are used by various political groups as allies.
Inna Chefranova, Executive Director of theEuropean Facilitation Platform, addressed the plight of girls from religious minorities who are subjected to abductions, forced conversion, and forced ’marriage.’ She cited the case of a 13-year-old Catholic girl, Arzoo Raja, who was abducted, converted to Islam, and forcibly married to an older man in 2020, illustrating the consequences of Pakistan’s judiciary and education system.
“The EU cannot continue to provide GSP+ privileges while systemic abuse persists. Monitoring without enforcement fails victims,” Chefranova said. “Education should be a tool of inclusion, not indoctrination. Until reforms are implemented, support should be conditional on measurable progress.”
A recorded message from MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen, Co-Chair of the EU Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief, was also shared during the event.
“We fund education in Pakistan, yet we disavow responsibility for what that education teaches. That is unacceptable,” Ruissen noted.
A 2024 inquiry made by Ruissen to the European Commissionconfirmed that EU taxpayers’ money had been provided to “religious seminaries” in Pakistan. Referring to the inquiry, Ruissen called for parliamentary action. He noted that “the EU must integrate these concerns into the upcoming GSP+ review. We cannot subsidize hate and exclusion.”
As a result, the EU enables a discriminatory and extremist curriculum which leads to the further Islamization of the Pakistani population. The EU is also supporting the oppression of everyone in the country who is not an Islamist, an abusive culture that is transported to Europe through mass migration. Sadly, it appears that the EU has—to a certain extent—become an enabler of Islamization in both the Old Continent and overseas.
On 26 March, CAP/ Liberté de conscience and Human Rights Without Frontiers organized a side-event about the situation of Human Rights in Pakistan. The keynote speaker was Mr Jan Figel, EU Commissioner for Education (2004-2009) and former EU Special Envoy of Freedom of Religion or Belief (2016-2019). Here are the main insights of his presentation.
HRWF (19.04.2025) – “Pakistan is a big country with a big potential. It’s a nuclear power but also a relatively poor state. The European Union has a special relation with this country due to the GSP+ trade agreement which is normally or basically oriented towards the least developed countries to facilitate their exports to Europe. In this regard, Pakistan is by far the largest partner of the European Union and the biggest beneficiary of this arrangement. The impact of the European Union policy should and can therefore be significant.”
The EU, freedom of religion or belief and human dignity in Pakistan
“Freedom of religion or belief is a very central human right. It’s in the centre of the whole list of the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The centrality of Article 18 is very important and the content is very particular. It is in fact freedom of thought, freedom of conscience and freedom of religion.
It speaks about human rationality, morality and spirituality. It is important for all, believers, non-believers, for people from A to Z, which means from Atheists up to Zoroastrians. It is for all, not only some, not only majorities, not only minorities. It is for all.
And it is actually a litmus test of all human rights because it is internal, it is the deepest freedom of a human being. In addition, there is a very close or deep nexus between religious freedom and human dignity.
As I said, Article 18 speaks about rationality, morality and spirituality of each human person. And human dignity is the basis of freedom, peace, justice and equality. It’s the precondition of a dignified life.
And of course, human dignity is a fact from which human duties and human rights are derived.
It is mentioned five times in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and also in many constitutions, including the constitution of India, Pakistan and my country, Slovakia. The problem is that for many people in Pakistan human dignity is not respected today.””
The roots of the disregard of human dignity
“The reasons are mostly linked to the state policies which started or were inherited from the time of Zia ul Haq’s government in Pakistan and the military junta which came with the Islamisation of the state to keep the ideology in power, not only with guns. For example, the penal code was moved to an extreme level. It is indeed very exceptional to have a penal code providing for death penalty or lifelong imprisonment on blasphemy charges. It’s unique and mandatory. It means a lot of damage for peaceful coexistence and cohabitation. I would say politically that the legacy of Zia ul Haq in Pakistan is today more important than the legacy of Ali Jinnah, the founding father, the dreamer, the visionary of a future Pakistan being a tolerant and pluralistic country.
Unfortunately, I have seen personally, being there several times, that extremist movements are stronger than political parties. They can paralyse the state, state authorities and law enforcement in the country.
The justice system is functioning but it is slow and relatively weak. Education, which is so important, is marked by ideology, intolerance, supremacy of one religion. It serves or works against inclusion of all. Madrasas are institutions of radicalisation.”
The impact of the disregard of human dignity
“Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus and other minorities are under pressure and discrimination in Pakistan. There are extensive attacks on a daily basis and of course there are damages on places of worship, cultural heritage and so on. Pakistan is regrettably very often in the leading group in negative rankings about the situation of human rights or religious freedom reports.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom put Pakistan in the CPC category, Countries of Particular Concern. Also Aid to the Church in Need or Open Doors and other NGOs.
Positive change or difference is however possible. I was several times in Pakistan. When I was there, it was not to interfere into domestic issues but it was for a dialogue between mature partners, with respect but also with clear principles: mutually beneficial and win-win policies, working together and even achieving some improvements.
The GSP+ was and remains a very important and great instrument as it grants enormous trade privileges to Pakistan. My message was mainly that in Pakistan a status quo is not enough and cannot be taken for granted and with satisfaction. Justice delayed is justice denied. It’s a general principle.
It’s not only in Pakistan but it is everywhere. And therefore, to modernise, mobilise and work on justice for all is important. A personal experience as an example.
A lady was sentenced twice to death and spent nine years on the death row. Her family who was under enormous threats was taken care by another family. In 2019, we managed to save the caretaking family with the kids first, then the mother, her husband and also another family, a Muslim family which was also under existential threat as they had helped me as interpreters in the Punjab.
So, this religious intolerance or hatred is damaging for all, not only for minorities, but also for majorities. I wanted to mention this case to stress that the European Union did life-saving work. The EU can do it, it can help, it can really make a difference even in countries like Pakistan but it must be more systematic.”
Pakistan’s controversial school education system
“Ladies and gentlemen, the silence of the European Commission in times of persecution and violent extremism is often painful, which is the case with Pakistan. The promotion of societal segregation from early childhood is against human rights, peaceful coexistence and social inclusion of minorities. EU’s financial assistance to detrimental religious education in Pakistan should therefore be stopped immediately. We too often hear soft words and messages from the European Union and United Nations agencies but courageous and efficient action and deeds are missing or fail to follow.
From 2004 to 2009, I was an EU Commissioner for Education. My input to the current or next generations of the world 20 years ago was the Erasmus Mundus Project, the best ever university exchange and mobility program. I also implemented the Bologna Process which aims to make it possible for academic qualifications to be recognized EU-wide and 16 years ago I launched the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, a life-long learning program.
The message of this program was that ‘education unites.’ This sort of education is needed in Pakistan for Pakistani, for people living and struggling there. Not in exile or elsewhere in the world but at home in Pakistan.” They could hereby be better off, they could be richer and they should be richer.”
A call to the EU and the UN
“I call on the UN agencies, the European Parliament and the Commission to review their education support for Pakistan and I call on the EU to review its GSP+ agreement with Pakistan, this year, with an unquestionable commitment to human dignity for all and human rights for all, including for religious and ethnic minorities. It is now without delay that it must start.”
Former EU FoRB Special Envoy Jan Figel’s views on religious freedom
About blasphemy laws; violence against religious minorities; kidnapping, forced conversion and marriages of non-Muslim girls
By Willy Fautré, Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF)
Photo: EU FoRB Special Envoy Jan Figel with Asia Bibi’s lawyer Saif ul Malookin Lahore, Pakistan, December 2017.
HRWF (19.02.2022) – On the eve of the 8th Meeting of the Istanbul Process against religious intolerance, stigmatisation, discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against persons based on religion or belief hosted by Pakistan, EU Special Representative for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore delivered some welcoming remarks on behalf of the EU on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Human Rights Council Resolution 16/18.
Human Rights Without Frontiers interviewed former EU Special Envoy Jan Figel to share his views about the situation of religious freedom in Pakistan as during his mandate he had vigorously and successfully stood up for the case of Asia Bibi, a Christian sentenced to death by hanging on alleged blasphemy charges. After years spent on the death row, she was acquitted in 2018 by the Supreme Court on the grounds of insufficient evidence. She now lives in Canada.
HRWF: Pakistan is a beneficiary of the GSP+ scheme, which grants a privileged access for its products to the EU market, but members of the European Parliament and civil society organizations in Europe are pressing Brussels to suspend this status due to egregious violations of human rights in Pakistan. What is their main area of concern?
Jan Figel: Pakistan has been benefitting from trade preferences under the GSP+ program since 2014. The overall economic incentives from this unilateral trade advantage for the country are considerable, reaching billions of Euros. But almost every year the European Parliament adopts a critical resolution or statement on various crimes, human rights violations or judicial abuses. The GSP+ status came with the obligation for Pakistan to ratify and implement 27 international conventions, including commitments to guarantee human rights and religious freedom. This is a frequent and vast problem in Pakistan. The latest GSP+ assessment of Pakistan in 2020 by the Commission expressed a variety of serious concerns on the human rights situation in the country, notably the lack of progress in limiting the scope and implementation of the death penalty.
One of the most striking issues has been the continued use of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan since 1986 after they were adopted by the former military regime. Regrettably, civilian governments have not had enough goodwill, or courage, afterwards to get rid of these stringent provisions that are frequently misused against a neighbor or an opponent to settle personal scores. Almost 1900 persons have been charged in total so far, with the highest numbers in recent years. In 2019 the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Ahmed Shaheed mentioned the case of Asia Bibi in his annual Report as one of the examples of a revival of anti-blasphemy and anti-apostasy laws and the use of public order laws to limit any expression deemed offensive to religious communities.
As a Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief outside the EU (2016-2019) I followed the case of Asia Bibi very closely and was involved with Pakistani authorities, repeatedly and intensively. The EU showed here its positive influence; it was an excellent example of effective diplomacy and soft power. Regrettably, this important effort has not been continued, there is no Special Envoy for FoRB outside the EU anymore. Obviously, FoRB is not a priority today as it was under Juncker´s Commission.
HRWF: To what extent are religious minorities victims of human rights violations and discrimination in Pakistan?
Jan Figel: Religious minorities face many types of social and religious discrimination. Such discrimination is also observed at the official level in state and public employment as well as in private sector jobs. Minorities are disliked, ignored and sidelined. Even in schools, children face such challenges. My Pakistani friends quite often tell me about their painful experience.
Discrimination of religious minorities became a usual, daily phenomenon in Pakistan, both officially and socially in the larger society. State condemnation of violence and discrimination of religious minorities especially against Hindus and Christians is, regrettably, only a lip service. We all know that slogans and hollow statements can never replace sincere commitments, continued efforts and justice for all. They are just meant to appease the international audience.
The most severe situation concerns Ahmadis, who claim their Islamic identity and belonging, but this is not recognized by the State. Members of this community are openly and constitutionally discriminated against and they are frequently attacked by violent mobs. The government repeatedly showed its impotence to protect religious minorities who are regularly harassed: mainly Christians, Hindus, Shias, Ahmadis and Sikhs.
HRWF: Can you give some examples of recent incidents targeting religious minorities?
Jan Figel: There are too many examples to share, unfortunately. Here are some of them. In 2020 Saleem Masih, a 22-year-old man in the city of Kasur, in Punjab province, was tortured to death by local landlords after they accused him of ‘polluting’ the water he bathed in. His only fault was that he was a Christian He was tortured to death for taking a dip in a village tube well in Pakistan.
Tabitha Gill, a Christian nurse in Karachi, was beaten in January 2021 by her Muslim colleagues who accused her of blasphemy.
Recently, Salma Tanveer, a Muslim woman and a mother of five children, was sentenced to death in September 2021 after spending nine years in prison.
Aneeqa Ateeq, a 26-year-old Muslim woman, was also sentenced to death in January 2022.
Some radical Muslims killed a Shia sect cleric Maulana Khan for alleged blasphemy in autumn 2020 in Karachi.
Blasphemy incidents affect Muslims and non-believers as well. It is critically high time to look closely at these issues and correct this whole unjust system.
A Sri Lankan factory manager was beaten to death and set ablaze by a mob over blasphemy accusations in Sialkot city, in Punjab, in December last.
Recently, in February, a crowd snatched a man accused of blasphemy at a police station in Khanewal, also in the Punjab Province. He was beaten and hanged. As journalist Waqar Gillani puts it, there is an unending tale of horror in Pakistan…
One must wonder where the rule of law is. On which side do the police stand?
Punjab Governor Salman Taseer was shot dead by an official bodyguard in 2011 because he criticized the blasphemy laws and demanded Asia Bibi to be pardoned. Shortly after Taseer was gunned down, Shabaz Bhatti, the Federal Minister for Minorities and the only Christian in the Cabinet, was shot dead.
Peace in society is the fruit of justice. Justice delayed is justice denied, I repeated during my missions to Pakistan in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Ravalpindi. Justice needs more than labels, slogans or words – it needs action, decisions and perseverance.
HRWF: Is there some truth in the kidnapping and forced conversion stories of about 1000 Pakistani girls per year?
Jan Figel: Rights groups say that every year in Pakistan as many as 1,000 minority girls are forcibly converted to Islam, often after being abducted or tricked. According to Amarnath Motumal, the vice-chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an estimated 20 or more Hindu girls are abducted and forcefully converted every month, although exact figures are impossible to gather.
In a shocking decision, the Lahore High Court has recently ruled in favor of a Muslim perpetrator who forcibly abducted, converted to Islam and married an underage Christian girl called Maria Shahbaz. The 14-year-old girl was abducted in Faisalabad in April 2020.
So, it is a majority Muslim dominance issue. The formal law does not allow marriage before 18 years. Such child conversions and marriages are therefore illegal. Recently, Pakistan has tried to pass a law against forced conversions but later the Government gave in to pressure of religious extremists and in September the bill was deferred. HRWF: Which laws in Pakistan are contrary to international agreements and should be urgently amended?
Jan Figel: Blasphemy laws are the single most draconian laws that undermine freedom of thought, religion or expression. It literally suffocates the religious minorities, instills deadly fear of mob violence and forces religious minorities into submission to the whims and authority of the majority.
Government efforts towards Islamization of Pakistan’s civil and criminal law, which began in the early 1980s, have dangerously undermined fundamental right to freedom of religion and expression, and have led to serious abuses against the country’s religious minorities. The broad and vague provisions of a series of laws known collectively as the “blasphemy” laws, which strengthen criminal penalties for offenses against Islam, have been used to bring politically motivated charges of blasphemy or other religious offenses against members of religious minorities as well as some Muslims.
The blasphemy laws have also contributed to a climate of religious bigotry which has led to discrimination, harassment and violent attacks on minorities – abuses which are apparently tolerated, if not condoned, by some political leaders and government officials.
HRWF: Our organization has a database of dozens of documented cases of Christian, Hindu, Ahmadi and even Muslim Pakistanis who are on the death row or have been sentenced to heavy prison terms or have been in pretrial detention for years on blasphemy charges. Does the judicial system work in conformity with international standards in this regard?
Jan Figel: In theory and on paper the judicial system may appear to work in conformity with international standards but in practice and reality on the ground it does not. The state influences action or inaction on any judicial process on matters of religious content in courts, keeping the political expediency at the forefront. This forces guilty verdicts or delayed verdicts in sensitive religious cases.
The most prominent example is the case of Asia Bibi. This woman from humble background was mercilessly beaten and charged with blasphemy for drinking water from a container used by her Muslim co-workers. She was sentenced to death by a lower court and subsequently by higher courts on appeal. However, when her case became known in international media, Pakistan found a way to release her after nine years of incarceration. The Supreme Court of Pakistan squashed the case on technical grounds but still did not declare her innocent. Asia Bibi had to flee from Pakistan to Canada under a hush deal between the two countries.
Quite often, the police also fail to protect vulnerable groups and individuals. This was the case on February 14, in Lahore, when 25-year old Pervez Masih was killed by a violent mob although the police had been informed and called for protection.
In Pakistan, the rule of law is weak and justice is delayed or not carried out because of the religious indoctrination of masses and street power. Quite often semi-illiterate religious clerics force the judicial system to bow down to their influences. The state security and law enforcing authorities are weak and also subject to some religious considerations. Due to this weakness, several courageous judges have been killed or had to flee the country.
The criminal justice system in Pakistan needs overhauling and courage in this context. It is flawed. There is a tacit support to the complainant’s side at all levels: police, prisons and courts. Amid fears, pressures and like-mindedness the judges try to shift the decision to higher and superior courts. Sometimes, their partiality is obvious, even in their judgments.
In a recent court ruling, the judge in Rawalpindi sentenced to the death penalty a Muslim woman accused of blasphemy, saying she was not only a blasphemer but also an apostate, for which she deserved the capital punishment.
So, there are few examples when the judicial system works in conformity with international standards. If it happens that is only at Supreme Court level, which is the highest level.
HRWF: To what extent does or doesn’t Pakistan promote religious tolerance in its school education system?
Jan Figel: The education system should do much more for interreligious and interethnic tolerance and coexistence. On the contrary, one can see instillation of hate against Hindus, in particular by misrepresenting and concocting the struggle for India’s independence from British colonial rule. The word Hindu for some groups represents an enemy of Pakistan and Islam.
There are positive efforts but a traditional mindset prevails in society. Discrimination and intolerance exist in the administration, and also among educators and teachers. Noteworthy is that the recent compulsory Single National Curriculum (SNC) also has a religious perspective; even in the English and science classes, religion has been introduced. The State has been defined as a religious one, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, since the times of the military regime… There are fears that this SNC will increase intolerance and biases, and will have an adverse impact.
Good literacy for all and relevant education is needed for peace, coexistence and more promising development in Pakistan. But the content of education is a decisive factor! The state must take more of that and do its duty properly.
HRWF: The GSP+ has been the best attempt of the EU at being concrete and objective about the importance of international treaties in its relationships with third countries. Soon, DG Trade, the EEAS and several services within the Commission will evaluate to what extent Pakistan has been complying with the 27 international agreements that are conditions to receive and keep the “GSP+” status that is worth billions of Euro, greatly benefitting the economy of Pakistan. What is your view on this process?
Jan Figel: I agree that the GSP+ is a great EU instrument to bring important rules, values and sustainable development into beneficiary countries, including the largest one among them – Pakistan. Here it cannot be “business as usual”. The EEAS runs a big EU Delegation of diplomats and has some detailed knowledge of the reality on the ground. It is important for the Commission to have a fair assessment and recommendations in line with the agreed objectives of this Agreement, and for the European Parliament and the Council to adopt responsible positions. Only a Europe caring about justice can be a strong, constructive and respected global actor.
Twenty-seven international treaties that are the conditions to receive and keep the “GSP+” status should be not only signed and ratified by the Government and the Parliament of Pakistan. They must be implemented (!) in practice for the benefit of people. Those treaties cover human rights, the rule of law, environmental protection, labor law, the fight against corruption, etc.
To this end, Pakistan has created the TIC – Treaties Implementation Cell. Therefore, the EU should focus on the monitoring of the implementation. A lot of European taxpayers’ money is donated to Pakistan in support of these commitments. It is time for a fair and credible assessment. This would be the only effective tool of the EU to force Pakistan to review its symptomatic, visible injustice towards its religious minorities.
HRWF: Do you think that by ignoring the non-compliance with a number of international treaties the EU would really be helping Pakistan and that other unsuccessful candidates for the GSP+ status would not feel discriminated against by perceived EU’s double standards ?
Jan Figel: By unconditionally condoning Pakistan, the EU is sending an inconsistent, wrong message to the other candidate countries. The Union must have one credible face and refuse double standards. Pakistani authorities speak a lot about democracy and protection of minorities. They have a ministry for human rights but there are many fresh blood stains on the white strip of Pakistan’s flag. The inspirational founding father of Pakistan, Ali Jinnah, needs followers in deeds, not in words.
HRWF: Considering Pakistan’s neighborhood and Europe’s interests, do you think it is justified to let Pakistan off the hook on human rights issues, because of the situation in Afghanistan and its influence in Pakistan?
Jan Figel: Pakistan is an important EU partner and a nuclear power but which country is not important in this region? If for this reason we let Pakistan continue to implement the same policies, it will only encourage it to play its geopolitical and geostrategic card. Status quo is not enough for the betterment of lives and relations within the country. Pakistan must be held accountable for its actions and its commitments. This is the best service the EU can provide to people of good will in Pakistan.
HRWF: What should Eamon Gilmore, the EU’s Special Representative for Human Rights, tell the Pakistani authorities when visiting Pakistan later this month?
Jan Figel: The EU Special Representative should ask the Government of Imran Khan to address the issue of the draconian blasphemy laws. I would recommend him to talk about the fairness of the administrative, legal and judicial systems dealing with, investigating and taking decisions about blasphemy cases. There must be a fair and impartial way of treating such cases. The Government also should think of a consensual mechanism to deal with the growing number of blasphemy cases, especially under the cybercrime legislation.
Eamon Gilmore was supportive of FoRB promotion and we had some very constructive cooperation during my mandate as EU FoRB Special Envoy. He may encourage the authorities of Pakistan to adopt effective and transparent laws, programs and actions to improve the situation of economically and socially marginalized religious minorities. The members of these communities are frequently relegated to the lowest and unhygienic waste cleaning jobs while they should given equal employment opportunities to show their talents.
As a former EU Commissioner for Education, Culture and Youth I would strongly recommend to the EU Commission to offer active cooperation and creative professional review of Pakistan’s new “One Curriculum” schoolbooks for the promotion of religious tolerance.
Without a necessary and credible review, the Single National Curriculum may increase hatred, discrimination and prejudices and may also lead to the misuse of blasphemy cases. Good and accessible education unites people and builds bridges among nations as well. Education is important for future of Pakistan both internally and externally.
Asia Bibi vit au Canada depuis sa libération, dans un endroit tenu secret, par crainte de représailles de la part de fondamentalistes musulmans. Cette femme catholique, qui a passé des années dans le couloir de la mort après une accusation de « blasphème contre l’islam », s’est confiée le 31 août 2019 sur ses conditions de détention.
Dans son tout premier entretien avec un journal, elle a confié au Sunday Telegraph quel était son désarroi après sa condamnation à mort : « parfois, je perdais courage et me demandais si je sortirais de prison ou non, que se passerait-il ensuite, si je resterais ici toute ma vie », a-t-elle expliqué.
Mais pas question pour elle de montrer sa tristesse à ses proches : « lorsque mes filles me rendaient visite en prison, je n’ai jamais pleuré devant elles, mais après leur départ, je pleurais seule, pleine de douleur et de chagrin ».
Asia Bibi parle de sa peine d’avoir été contrainte de quitter sa patrie, confiant son désir de quitter le continent américain afin de s’installer dans un pays d’Europe.
Selon le département d’Etat américain, il existerait au moins 77 autres personnes détenues au Pakistan en vertu de lois sur le blasphème. L’inculpation peut théoriquement entraîner la peine de mort, mais cette peine n’a pas besoin d’être appliquée par un représentant de l’Etat, car les procès se terminent souvent par un lynchage collectif.
L’un des diplomates européens qui a contribué à négocier le départ d’Asia Bibi du Pakistan, le slovaque Jan Figel, a évoqué dans les colonnes du Sunday Telegraph « une femme admirablement courageuse, une mère aimante qui avait refusé d’abandonner sa foi chrétienne en échange d’une liberté immédiate », comme elle aurait pu le faire en apostasiant. Mais la foi l’a emporté.
Asia Bibi, la madre católica que estuvo diez años presa y condenada en Pakistán acusada falsamente de blasfemia, publicó un video desde el exilio en Canadá para animar a los creyentes a mantenerse siempre fieles, incluso si es necesario sacrificarlo todo.
“Yo, Asia Bibi, hija de Salamat Masih, creo en Jesús. Y hoy quiero declarar una cosa al mundo: que no hice nada malo para merecer lo que sufrí durante diez años”, dice la mujer en un video publicado en Youtube el 8 de septiembre.
“Fui una prisionera condenada a muerte. Me acusaron de blasfemia pero se me dio la libertad a través de Jesús y nunca dejé que mi fe se debilitara”, agrega.
“Mi fe es lo suficientemente fuerte que quiero pedirles: no se alejen de lo que creen. A todo el mundo, por favor manténganse fieles a lo que creen. Y para todo el mundo mi mensaje es el mismo, manténganse fieles a lo que creen incluso si tienen que afrontar la espada, manténganse firmes con su fe, incluso si tienen que sacrificarlo todo”, subraya Asia Bibi en el video en el que solo se oye su voz y no se le puede ver.
Dirigiéndose luego a quienes han sido acusados de blasfemia en países musulmanes y que esperan su ejecución, la mujer los anima a “pensar positivamente” y los demás les pide que “sean positivos por ellos, vayan a visitarlos y escúchenlos”.
El caso de Asia Bibi
En junio de 2009 Asia Bibi trabajaba recogiendo frutas en la localidad de Sheikhupura, cerca de la capital Lahore. Cuando se acercó a un pozo para beber, un grupo de musulmanas la acusaron de contaminar el agua por ser cristiana.
Bibi respondió a los insultos contra su fe diciendo: “Yo creo en mi religión y en Jesucristo que murió en la Cruz por los pecados de la humanidad. ¿Qué hizo su profeta Mahoma para salvar a la humanidad?”.
Tras ser acusada de blasfemar contra el islam, Bibi permaneció encarcelada desde el 2009 y condenada a muerte en 2010.
A nivel internacional comenzó una campaña para lograr su liberación. El 31 de octubre de 2018 y nuevamente en enero de 2019 la Corte Suprema anuló la condena que pesaba sobre esta madre católica.
Sin embargo, el caos político generado tras la decisión de la corte de liberarla hizo que Bibi no pudiera salir del país sino hasta mayo de este año para unirse a sus dos hijas que ya habían recibido el asilo en Canadá.
La dura ley antiblasfemia pakistaní fue establecida en la época colonial británica para evitar choques religiosos, pero en la década de 1980 varias reformas auspiciadas por el dictador Zia ul Haq favorecieron el abuso de esta norma.
Desde entonces se han producido más de un millar de acusaciones de blasfemia, un delito que puede llevar la pena de muerte, aunque todavía nunca se ha llevado a cabo esa condena.
In einem Interview sprach die wegen Blasphemie zum Tode verurteilte Pakistanerin Asia Bibi jüngst über ihre Jahre in der Todeszelle und ihr Exil in Kanada. Ein Zurück gibt es für sie wohl nicht.
Asia Bibi ist dem höchsten Gericht Pakistans dankbar für ihren Freispruch nach neun Jahren in der Todeszelle. In dem Interview mit der britischen Zeitung “Sunday Telegraph” erinnerte sie zuletzt aber auch an die vielen Leidensgenossen in Pakistan: Es gebe “viele andere Fälle, bei denen die Beschuldigten jahrelang im Gefängnis verbringen”. Auch hier sollten die Gerichte zu ihren Gunsten entscheiden.
Das US-Außenministerium schätzt, dass derzeit 77 Menschen wegen Blasphemie in Pakistan inhaftiert sind. Sie zu verteidigen, erfordert unvorstellbaren Mut. Selbst vor Gericht werden Anwälte bedroht, wie Aneeqa Maria Anthony aus eigener Erfahrung weiß. An einem Verhandlungstag im Fall des 16-jährigen Christen Nabeel Masih habe der Staatsanwalt ihr im Februar gesagt: “Das sind muslimische Gerichte. Sie sollten einen solchen Kriminellen nicht verteidigen … Sie passen besser auf sich auf.”
Im Telefonat mit der Katholischen Nachrichten-Agentur (KNA) sagt die Menschenrechtsanwältin, die derzeit vier wegen Blasphemie angeklagte Christen vertritt: “Die Situation für Blasphemieopfer hat sich seit Asia Bibis Freispruch verschlechtert. Die radikalen Muslime als auch die breitere Öffentlichkeit wollen Rache.”
2009 entkam Anthony selbst einer Anklage durch ihre Flucht nach Deutschland. Nach ihrer Rückkehr nach Pakistan gründete die heute 38-jährige The Voice Society, eine Organisation, die Blasphemieopfern rechtlichen Beistand leistet. “Immer wieder müssen meine Familie und ich nach Drohungen untertauchen”, berichtet die Mutter zweier Kinder.
Der Fall Asia Bibi sorgte weltweit für Schlagzeilen. Papst Franziskus und andere einflussreiche Persönlichkeiten aus dem Westen setzten sich für die Katholikin ein. In Pakistan war der Fall Anlass für gewaltsamen islamistischen Aufruhr. Salman Taseer, muslimischer Gouverneur des Punjab, sowie der Christ Shahbaz Bhatti, Minister für Minderheiten, wurden ermordet, weil sie sich für die Freilassung Asia Bibis einsetzten.
Für radikale Muslime ist der 2016 hingerichtete Mörder von Salman Taseer ein Märtyrer, sein Grab wurde zu einer Pilgerstätte. Wie die Mehrheit der pakistanischen Christen stammt auch Asia Bibi aus dem Punjab. Mehr als 70 Prozent der Christen leben unterhalb der Armutsgrenze. Das macht sie zu leichten Opfern der Islamisten.
Pakistanische Menschenrechtsanwälte sehen die internationale Prominenz des Falls Asia Bibi mit gemischten Gefühlen. “Ohne die Intervention westlicher Länder wäre sie nicht freigesprochen worden”, sagt der im Exil in Sri Lanka lebende Anwalt Sardar Mushtaq Gill. Anthony in Lahore weiß aber auch: “Dadurch wurden die juristischen Verfahren in die Länge gezogen und das Leid von Asia Bibi verschlimmert.”
Beide Anwälte bevorzugen bei ihren Fällen lieber die “leisen Töne” in der Öffentlichkeit. Gill sagt: “Dann bietet man weniger Angriffsfläche.” Der Protestant musste trotzdem vor islamistischer Verfolgung fliehen. “Ich hoffe, dass ich bald in einem Drittland Asyl bekomme”, sagt Gill telefonisch aus Colombo, wo er in der Obhut der UN-Flüchtlingskommission lebt.
Anthony hat wenig Hoffnung, dass sich die Lage für religiöse Minderheiten in Pakistan entspannt. Er weiß: “Premierminister Imran Khan will die Gewalt bekämpfen. Aber sein Spielraum ist gering. Hass und Fanatismus sind inzwischen in der Gesellschaft tief verwurzelt.”
Mit dem Hass wird Asia Bibi für immer leben müssen. “Es brach mir das Herz, ohne Abschied von meiner Familie gehen zu müssen. Pakistan ist mein Land und meine Heimat, die ich liebe”, sagte sie im Interview. Sie weiß, dass es schon aus Sicherheitsgründen kein Zurück gibt. Doch auch im Exil, ob in Kanada oder letztlich in einem europäischen Land, muss sie die Rache der Islamisten fürchten. Anwältin Anthony sagt: “Sie wird nirgends sicher sein.” (KNA)
V štúdiu TA3 sme si pripomenuli príbeh pakistanskej kresťanky Ásije Bíbíovej. Tá vo svojej rodnej krajine čelila za údajné rúhanie sa trestu smrti. Súd ju napokon oslobodil a pomohol v tom aj vyslanec EÚ pre náboženskú slobodu Ján Figeľ.
