[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 764 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 764

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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 23, 2009

 Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. McGovern) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
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.

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;
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;
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;
Whereas Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan, envisioned a 
        nation of religious plurality and equality;
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;
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;
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;
Whereas, in 2008, the Government of Pakistan for the first time recognized the 
        holidays of minority religious groups in addition to Muslim holidays;
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;
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;
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;
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;
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;
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'';
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;
Whereas interfaith dialogue reflects the multi-religious nature of Pakistan and 
        the vision of Pakistan's founder;
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;
Whereas reducing extremism and related violence is a key goal of the United 
        States in its relations with Pakistan; and
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 it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the United States should--
            (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--
                    (A) clearly articulating a concern for upholding 
                religious freedom and related human rights as an 
                essential element of United States engagement with 
                Pakistan;
                    (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;
                    (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;
                    (D) using its nonmilitary financial assistance to 
                Pakistan to strengthen institutions crucial to 
                Pakistan's democratic development, particularly the 
                judiciary and police;
                    (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;
                    (F) urging the Government of Pakistan to set 
                national textbook and curriculum standards that 
                actively promote respect for the religious beliefs of 
                others; and
                    (G) ensuring that the United States Embassy and the 
                United States Agency for International Development 
                (USAID) mission support these initiatives;
            (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--
                    (A) investigating acts of religiously motivated and 
                sectarian violence, and punishing perpetrators in a 
                timely manner; and
                    (B) repealing the blasphemy laws; and
            (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.
                                 <all>