SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2306didates. Legal provisions for minority reserved seats do not include the Senate andthe Federal Cabinet.Furthermore according to the suspended Constitution, the President and thePrime Minister must be Muslim. The Prime Minister, federal ministers, and ministersof state, as well as elected members of the Senate and National Assembly (includingnon-Muslims) must take an oath to ‘‘strive to preserve the Islamic ideology,which is the basis for the creation of Pakistan’’ (see Section 3).In June a prominent Christian-affiliated NGO that is active in defending thoseaccused of violating the blasphemy laws received a series of death threats.‘‘Islamiyyat’’ (Islamic studies) is compulsory for all Muslim students in state-runschools. Students of other faiths are not required to study Islam but are not providedwith parallel studies in their own religions. In practice many non-Muslim studentsare compelled by teachers to complete the Islamiyyat. An education policy announcedby the Government in 1998 included provisions for increased mandatory Islamicinstruction in public schools.Upon conversion to Islam, the marriages of Jewish or Christian men remain legal;however, upon conversion to Islam, the marriages of Jewish or Christian women,or of other non-Muslims, that were performed under the rites of the previous religionare considered dissolved.The Government designates religion on passports, and to get a passport citizensmust declare whether they are Muslim or non-Muslim. Muslims must also affirmthat they accept the unqualified finality of the prophethood of Mohammed and declarethat Ahmadis are non-Muslims.In September 1999, the Sharif Government removed colonial-era entries for ‘‘sect’’from government job application forms to prevent discrimination in hiring. However,the faith of some, particularly Christians, often can be ascertained from theirnames. General Musharraf and members of his staff apparently consulted with religiousminorities on some of his initial cabinet appointments.In December 1999, the Supreme Court ruled that interest is un-Islamic and directedthe Government to implement an interest-free system by June 2001.Following the coup, the Musharraf Government affirmed its commitment toprotectthe rights of religious minorities. According to minority community members,the Government made efforts to seek minority input into decision-making and offeredsome religious minorities cabinet positions.The predominantly Ahmadi town and spiritual center of Chenab Nagar (formerlyknown as Rabway) in Punjab often has been a site of violence against Ahmadis (seeSection 5).In December 1999, several hundred persons looted and burned property in HaveliLakha, Okara district, Punjab, which belonged to Mohammad Nawaz, a localAhmadi leader accused of planning to build an Ahmadi house of worship (see Section5). A neighbor reportedly incited the incident by accusing Nawaz of buildingthe house of worship after the two were involved in a property dispute. Nawaz, adoctor, reportedly intended to build a free clinic next to his home. The mob destroyedthe clinic and looted and burned Nawaz’s home. According to Ahmadisources, police personnel arrived at the scene, but did nothing to stop the crowd.At year’s end, neither the neighbor nor anyone in the crowd had been arrested orquestioned in connection with the incident, and police took no steps to find or returnany of Nawaz’s property. However, Nawaz and his two sons were arrested andcharged with blasphemy. Several days later, they were released on bail; however,the blasphemy case against them was pending as of year’s end. Three otherAhmadis in Haveli Lakha also were charged with blasphemy in connection with theincident, even though they were not in town at the time; however, the case againstthem was dismissed for lack of evidence.Sectarian violence and tensions continued to be a serious problem throughout thecountry (see Section 5). More than 300 persons have died in incidents of sectarianviolence in Punjab in the last 3 years, according to one credible newspaper report.Another newspaper reported that over 2,000 persons have died in sectarian violencesince 1981 (see Section 1.a.). However, sectarian violence markedly decreased afterthe October 1999 coup.Anti-terrorist courts also handed down convictions against several individuals accusedof sectarian violence. On April 22, an anti-terrorist court in Rawalpindi sentenced23 persons to life imprisonment for their role in leading a procession of personsthat burned a Shi’a mosque in 1996. On July 3, an anti-terrorist court inGujranwala convicted 2 men for reportedly killing a Shi’a senior police officer; however,the men later were released.d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation.—Mostcitizens enjoy freedom of movement within the country and thefreedom to travel abroad; however, the Government limits these rights. The authori-VerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00150 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.036 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1