ASIA/PAKISTAN - The Justice and Peace Commission: "The government has failed in protecting its citizens"

Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - "The Pakistani government has failed in protecting the right to life of its citizens". This was reported in a statement from the "Justice and Peace" Commission of the Catholic Bishops of Pakistan (NCJP), sent to Agenzia Fides. The note, signed by the President of the Commission, Fr. Emmanuel Yousaf, and by the Secretary, Cecil Shane Chaudhry, "condemns the brutal killing of the Christian couple Shahzad and Shama Masih", burned alive in the district of Kasur, emphasizing "the growing intolerance against religious minorities" and the duty of the government to stop it.
The statement calls for "serious and effective measures to control the violence carried out in the name of religion". "We call on the provincial governments and the federal government to take due account of this incident and to review their position on the law of blasphemy", says the statement.
The statement sent to Fides denounces the impunity granted to perpetrators of attacks on Christians and other minorities. This is because "there is no political will, and this makes minorities even more vulnerable", it said. The Commission calls for a thorough investigation into the events of Kasur and that the report prepared by the Commission of Inquiry is to be made public, inviting all Pakistan's civil society to "resist the wave of extremism" and to defend human rights. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 06/11/2014)