Pakistan held its general elections on July 25, in which Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) has been declared winner. Currently he is holding talks with partners to form a government. According to Imran Khan, all citizens, including Christians, will be treated equally in Pakistan, but Fr. Channan said it is difficult to say at present whether that is going to happen. However, the priest who is active in interfaith dialogue and harmony feels optimistic and hopes that Khan will fulfil the promises he has made.
As reported by asianews.it, Fr. Nasir William, director of the Social Communications Commission of the diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, told AsiaNews that Pakistan’s previous governments failed to give equal rights to religious minorities. In his victory speech, Khan assured minorities of the basic privileges guaranteed in the constitution but Fr. Willian said he remained silent when leaders of his PTI party referred to “Christians as kaafir (infidels) and churhas (low caste) in assemblies and television talk shows”.
Hyacinth Peter, executive secretary of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Major Religious Superiors Leadership Conference said Khan has “no interest” in minorities as he has vowed to defend the country’s controversial blasphemy laws. His government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has removed all secular content from school syllabus.
