Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) - The incident has been overcome and the case is officially closed: as reported to Fides by political sources in Pakistan, the word "Jesus Christ" has been permanently deleted from the list of prohibited terms to be used in text messages, which will be officially distributed to telephone companies (see Fides 21/11/2011; 22/11/2011). As reported to Fides, the intervention of the Minister of State for Harmony was decisive, the Catholic Akram Gill, who raised the issue in the Cabinet of Ministers and in a personal interview with Mohammed Yaseen, President of the Pakistan Authority for telecommunications, noting that "this inexplicable measure does not help to create an atmosphere of religious harmony in Pakistan". President Yaseen immediately modified the list, by officially deleting the name Jesus Christ from the list of prohibited words.
The Church in Pakistan has shown relief "to continue the work of evangelization with the new technologies", while other organizations of loyal Pakistanis in Europe - like the "British Pakistani Christian Association" and the "Association of Pakistani Christians in Italy", which had launched a pressure campaign – they expressed their satisfaction to Fides, hoping that the Pakistani public institutions "promote, in every action they do, tolerance, harmony, respect for everyone’s human rights". (PA) (Agenzia Fides 23/11/2011)
