Source/Credit: NewKeral.com: 14 September 2011
Washington, Sept 14 : Investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of extremist attacks on minorities are rare in Pakistan, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom has said in its new report.
The ‘July-December, 2010 International Religious Freedom report’, released by the US State Department, noted that Pakistan’s constitution and other laws and policies “restricted religious freedom and, in practice, the government enforced these restrictions.”
The constitution establishes Islam as the state religion, and it requires that laws be consistent with Islam, it pointed out.
“The constitution states that “subject to law, public order, and morality, every citizen shall have the right to profess, practice, and propagate his religion;” in practice, however, the government limited freedom of religion. Freedom of speech was also constitutionally “subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam”,” it added.
According to the report, the Pakistan Government “rarely investigated or prosecuted the perpetrators of increased extremist attacks on minorities and the majority promoting tolerance, which deepened the climate of impunity.”
Categories: Pakistan, United States