HRES 764 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on the importance of inter-religious dialogue and the protection of religious freedom and related human rights for persons of all faiths and nationalities in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

September 23, 2009CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. MCGOVERN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign AffairsCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on the importance of inter-religious dialogue and the protection of religious freedom and related human rights for persons of all faiths and nationalities in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a multi-religious society comprised of Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis, Parsis (Zoroastrians), Sikhs, Buddhists, Baha’is, and others;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas support for religious freedom and related human rights in Pakistan will help ensure the future of Pakistan as a free, strong, and vibrant society and that enduring stability in Pakistan will come from an active civil society in which religious freedom flourishes;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas there is a correlation between the lack of religious freedom protections for all, the persecution of religious minorities, and the rise of religious extremism, which threatens Pakistan’s national security and ultimately United States national security interests;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan, envisioned a nation of religious plurality and equality;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas while Islam is the state religion, the Constitution states that ‘subject to law, public order and morality, every citizen shall have the right to profess, practice, and propagate his religion’ and that there shall be no discrimination in rights based on religion in the provision of government services, property rights, education and public access;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the government of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani appointed the first cabinet-level official on religious minorities, Minister of Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti, on November 3, 2008, to protect the rights of minorities as envisioned under the 1973 Pakistan Constitution;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the Government of Pakistan allocated a quota of five percent of all federal jobs for members of minority religious groups through a law passed and implemented on May 26, 2009;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas, in 2008, the Government of Pakistan for the first time recognized the holidays of minority religious groups in addition to Muslim holidays;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas, on August 11, 2009, President Zardari declared August 11 as ‘Minorities Day’ to celebrate and recognize the role that Pakistan’s minorities played in the country’s independence and development;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the parliament unanimously passed a resolution denouncing the August 1, 2009, attacks against Christians in Gojra, Punjab, and affirming that their rights should be protected in accordance with the vision of the founder of Pakistan;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has found that a number of Pakistan’s laws, including those criminalizing blasphemy and restricting the rights of Ahmadis, frequently result in imprisonment on account of religion or belief and/or violence against the accused;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas blasphemy allegations, which often are false and for which due process is lacking, result in the lengthy detention of and sometimes violence against Muslims, as well as Christians, Ahmadis, Hindus, and members of other religious minorities;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas extremist groups have used the blasphemy laws to trigger sectarian violence, intimidate members of religious minorities and others with whom they disagree, and exploit these laws for their own political ends;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas Prime Minister Gilani has expressed support for reviewing the blasphemy laws for which prescribed penalties include life imprisonment and the death penalty, saying ‘a committee will review the laws detrimental to religious harmony to sort out how they could be improved’;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas education is a major vehicle for the transmission of ideas, attitudes, and beliefs, and some madrassas (religious education institutions) in Pakistan have taught extremist doctrine in support of terrorism;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas interfaith dialogue reflects the multi-religious nature of Pakistan and the vision of Pakistan’s founder;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the foreign policy of the United States is to promote internationally the right of everyone to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion in accordance with international human rights standards and the United States Government supports interfaith dialogue among persons of all faiths and nationalities;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas reducing extremism and related violence is a key goal of the United States in its relations with Pakistan; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas Minister of Minorities Affairs Bhatti has launched an initiative on interfaith dialogue, which promotes inter-religious respect and tolerance at the national level, and establishes at the district and local levels interfaith councils designed to promote respect among different religious communities and counter religiously motivated enmity and violence: Now, therefore, be itCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) ensure the promotion of inter-religious dialogue and protection of religious freedom and related human rights are key components of the United States engagement strategy with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan by--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) clearly articulating a concern for upholding religious freedom and related human rights as an essential element of United States engagement with Pakistan;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) supporting efforts by the Government of Pakistan to foster inter-religious dialogue by using its civilian financial assistance to strengthen initiatives by the Ministry of Minorities Affairs to promote inter-religious respect and tolerance at the national level, and to establish at the district and local levels interfaith councils designed to promote respect among different religious communities and to counter religiously motivated enmity and violence;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) supporting Pakistani civil society institutions that work to uphold and guarantee religious freedom and related human rights and ensuring that nonmilitary assistance emphasizes respect for human rights, religious freedom, civil society, constitutional processes, and democratic institutions;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) using its nonmilitary financial assistance to Pakistan to strengthen institutions crucial to Pakistan’s democratic development, particularly the judiciary and police;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(E) expanding programs leading to the sustained engagement of the United States with the Pakistani people, such as the Fulbright Program, the International Visitor Program, and other exchanges for professionals, students, and religious and civil society leaders from all of Pakistan’s diverse communities;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(F) urging the Government of Pakistan to set national textbook and curriculum standards that actively promote respect for the religious beliefs of others; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(G) ensuring that the United States Embassy and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) mission support these initiatives;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) support efforts by the Government of Pakistan to protect the religious freedom of all Pakistanis and prioritize the prevention of religiously motivated and sectarian violence and the punishment of its perpetrators by--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) investigating acts of religiously motivated and sectarian violence, and punishing perpetrators in a timely manner; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) repealing the blasphemy laws; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) urge the Government of Pakistan to review other legislation that restricts the right to profess, practice, and propagate religion or that constitutes discrimination on the basis of religion or belief in order to bring Pakistani law into conformity with international human rights standards.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink