Whereas two respected Pakistani officials—Punjab Governor
Salman Taseer and Pakistan Minister of Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti—were
both murdered for their advocacy on behalf of religious freedom for people of
all faiths throughout Pakistan on January 4, 2011, and March 1, 2011,
respectively;
Whereas both Taseer and Bhatti were actively opposed to
the death sentence handed down to Asia Bibi in November 2010 for insulting
Islam and called for amendments to the blasphemy laws;
Whereas blasphemy laws under section 295(c) of the
Pakistan Penal Code carry the criminal penalties of life imprisonment and the
death penalty and have led to increasing acts of harassment and violence
against Pakistani citizens, thousands of whom have had cases filed against them
often on the basis of false accusations and with little recourse or
justice;
Whereas according to the United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom, Blasphemy laws have been used against
members of religious minorities and dissenters within the majority Muslim
community, and frequently result in imprisonment on account of religion or
belief and/or vigilante violence.
;
Whereas more than 30 people have been killed by lynch mobs
after being accused of blasphemy in Pakistan since the law was adopted in 1979
and perpetrators are seldom brought to justice;
Whereas Bhatti decried recent attacks by extremist groups
on religious minorities saying they allowed intolerance and violence to
perpetuate itself;
Whereas only days before he was murdered Taseer warned on
Twitter: I was under huge pressure 2 cow down b4 rightist pressure on
blasphemy, Refused. Even if I’m the last man standing.
;
Whereas the United Nations has repeatedly endorsed
blasphemy laws through annual defamation of religions
or
vilification of religions
resolutions that call for member
states to take measures to prevent criticism of religion;
Whereas Pakistan has been the main sponsor of resolutions
through the Organization of Islamic Conference at the United Nations since 1999
which attempt to provide an internationally recognized legal justification for
their existing blasphemy laws;
Whereas according to the Department of
State’s 2010 International Religious Freedom Report on Pakistan, discriminatory
legislation and the Government’s failure or delay in addressing religious
hostility by societal actors fostered religious intolerance, acts of violence,
and intimidation against religious minorities;
Whereas specific laws that discriminated against religious
minorities included the anti-Ahmadi provisions of the penal code and the
blasphemy laws which provided the death penalty for defiling Islam or its
prophets;
Whereas according to the Becket Fund for Religious
Liberty, Blasphemy laws empower states against their citizens, protect
ideas rather than individuals, and engender violence by condemning peaceful
speech. While proponents of the defamation of religions
resolution and blasphemy laws say they are needed to defend the honor of
vulnerable religious believers, in reality they only achieve more violence by
creating a culture of impunity where the state officially sides with
extremists.
; and
Whereas recalling that Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of the
Republic, in an historic speech before the constituent assembly in 1947 urged
citizens to worship as they choose and stated, You may belong to any
religion or caste or creed-that has nothing to do with the business of the
State.
: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of
Representatives—
(1)calls on the Secretary of State and the
United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations to introduce a
Taseer-Bhatti Resolution
in the United Nations Human Rights
Council advocating the repeal of blasphemy laws and condemning their adverse
effects on freedom of religion and thought and to continue to work to defeat
passage of the annual defamation
resolutions introduced by the
Organization of Islamic Conference; and
(2)calls on the
President to initiate a dialogue with the Government of Pakistan to address the
blasphemy laws, including engaging in a bilateral review of—
(A)the compatibility
of all blasphemy legislation with the universally recognized freedom of
religion with the intent to repeal or amend such incompatible
legislation;
(B)the actions
against those who make claims of blasphemy that have incited violence;
(C)how the Government
of Pakistan protects individuals like Taseer and Bhatti and can establish an
early warning mechanism to protect all citizens from calls to violence;
and
(D)the burden of
proof used to allow citizens to file claims of blasphemy against other citizens
and whether such claims need to meet a certain threshold of evidence before
being filed, education provided the general public on the rights of religious
minorities in order to create a climate of religious tolerance.