It came as Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Monday, January 21, officially began his four-nation tour in Europe, where he pledged the February 18 ballot would be free and fair. "We must have fair and transparent elections," he said in Brussels. "Whoever wins, obviously power will be handed over to them."
If it’s up to several Christian politicians power will be handed over to the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), or PML-N, led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after he vowed to "rescind all the discriminatory laws" including controversial blasphemy laws, officials told BosNewsLife.
Under the blasphemy laws, Christians across Pakistan face prison terms, and potentially execution, on charges of insulting Islam. Rights groups and churches have said however the legislation has been misused to settle quarrels over issues such as marriage and properties.
SPECIAL CEREMONY
This weekend, some 13 Christian politicians including former parliamentarian Peter John Sahotra and his son Aamir Joel Sahotra, joined the PML-N at a ceremony. "All the Christian political leaders joined the PML-N" because Nawaz vowed to end discriminatory legislation and promised that "after seizing power, the PML-N government would ensure equal rights to all religious and ethnic minorities, particularly Christian citizens, of Pakistan," Peter John Sahotra told BosNewsLife.
He said Christian leaders earlier "unanimously asked the PML-N leadership to add the abolition" of what he called "the black blasphemy laws" in the manifesto of the party. Other Christian politicians earlier joined the party of Benazir Bhutto, after she promised to improve the plight of religious minorities. Bhutto, a former prime minister, was murdered December 27 while campaigning for the elections. The assassination triggered nationwide rioting and led the government to delay the vote from January 8 until February 18.
Christian opposition leaders have complained that President Musharraf failed to overturn discriminatory legislation and end rising Islamic extremism in the country, including attacks against Christian institutions and individual believers. Pakistan’s death toll from terrorist attacks and ethnically tinged rioting more than doubled last year to 2,116 from 967 in 2006, Bloomberg news agency quoted Pakistan’s Interior Ministry as saying.
KEY ALLY
Nuclear-armed Pakistan is a key ally in the United States "war on terror", but Musharraf has regularly been accused of refusing to take adequate measures against groups such as the Taliban, particularly around the city of Quetta.
However Musharraf, who will meet officials in Belgium, Britain, France, and at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, made clear he wants to crackdown on Muslim militants and bolster his democratic credentials. "We are for democracy and I have introduced the essence of democracy, but we cannot be as forward looking as you (in the West) are. Allow us some time to reach that state," he said in published remarks Monday, January 21.
He reportedly added that the media, which he conceded had been restricted during a six-week state of emergency introduced in November, was free to cover the February vote, but added that now "there is no limit on their freedom". There have been major security concerns surrounding his European trip. Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that Spain’s authorities had warned France, Portugal and Britain of the possibility of attacks during the visit. (Read more from Jawad Mazhar via www.raysofdevelopments.org. Read more BosNewsLife headline via bosnewslife.com)
