Khalil Thahir Sindhu, a friend of Shahbaz Bhatti’s says he is optimistic and prays the rosary every day for the woman. He also supports changes to ensure the blasphemy law is no longer abused.
The long line of people outside his office door doesn’t worry him. Catholic minister Khalil Thair Sindhu, lives inside his heavily guarded residence in the centre of Lahore – because of the threats he has received from the Taleban -, protected by stringent security measures. This, however, has not stopped him from receiving citizens, most of them Christians, who come to him with their problems and needs. With a long legal career under his belt, Sindhu is completing his second mandate as human rights and minorities minister in the government of the Punjab province, which is home to 80% of Pakistan’s entire Christian population. Vatican Insider met him.
Mr. Sindhu, Asia Bibi’s case is among the many cases of Christians in difficulty: what can you say about this?
I can say that her ordeal is almost over. Her hearing before the supreme Court is due to take place in the month of October. I am certain she will be acquitted. As a lawyer, I have studied her case in detail and given the elements in Asia’s favour, I predict there is going to be an acquittal. I want to be in court to follow the hearing in person, in an institutional capacity as a representative of the provincial government.”
Can you expand on that?
Briefly, I can say that the accusations have obviously been fabricated. The prosecution has insuffiecient evidence. First of all, the main accuser, the imam, who reported Asia, was not present when the alleged act of blasphemy was committed. In addition, there is a five-day gap between the incident and the day it was reported to the police, which contradicts one of the key principles of criminal justice. This supports the conspiracy hypothesis. We will do everything we can to save Asia. I pray the rosary for her every day: God will also help us.”
There are many who have fallen victim to the blasphemy law: what can be done?
“I am aware of that. Throughout my career as a lawyer, I managed to secure the acquittal of 37 Christians who were falsely accused of blasphemy. And there are also many Muslim victims who are innocent. Stopping abuse of this law is an important first step. The Senate’s human rights Commission recently launched a consultation process for that very purpose. Regarding blasphemy, what I say is this: given that “changing” the law is impossible, we can think about “adding” something on a procedural level. For example: if a false accusation is made, then the accuser receives the same punishment as the defendant. This will discourage people from abusing the law.”
From where you’re standing, how do you judge the condition of Christians and religious minorities in Pakistan?
There are two kinds of problems religious minorities face. “Social discrimination” and “constitutional discrimination”. Ordinary people see Christians and Hindus as “second rate” citizens, they see them as inferior, a legacy of the old traditional caste system, added to which is the faith issue. Social discrimination can be countered by raising awareness. In the second case, the process is more arduous. There are laws, articles in the Constitution, discriminatory public regulations. After so many modifications, the Constitution has changed for the worse since Pakistan gained its independence. We need to work on both fronts.
What results have you achieved through your political action?
We seek to improve the life of religious minorities every day. Years ago, there was a law which set aside humble jobs such as street cleaning for non-Muslims and we abolished it. The state only recently recognised marriages celebrated according to the Hindu rite. In state schools, the marks Muslim pupils got in religious studies in their school reports, don’t make up the average, otherwise non-Muslim students would have been at a disadvantage right from the start. We have improved the provision that allocates 5 per cent of public sector jobs to minorities.
How can this situation be improved in the long term?
“Politicians, activists, clergy, civil society must club together in one joint effort. We need to revive that original missionary spirit which drove the Dominican father, for example, to give their lives in service of the poor, to ensure education, dignity and development. Young people must be given the chance to move forward with their studies and train leaders who in turn can train other leaders, in one virtuous circle.”
