[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.
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