ISLAMABAD: The parliamentary leader of the Pakistan Muslim
League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the National Assembly, Khawaja Mohammad Asif, has
defended his remarks last week in the House about the rights of minorities,
stating that his speech was “in accordance with the Quaid-i-Azam’s vision and
the rights granted to minorities by the Constitution”.
“For the
past few days, there has been an ongoing debate regarding my last speech in the
National Assembly. My entire speech was in the context of Pakistan’s
Constitution which grants equal rights to all citizens irrespective of their
religion, faith and ethnicity,” said the PML-N leader in a statement here on
Tuesday.
Mr Asif
said he had made this clarification on the floor of the assembly the same day
as well.
Islam is
a “perfect religion” and the final message of God Almighty through His last
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), he said, adding that the primacy of the religion was
the cornerstone of faith of every Muslim.
“Trying to misinterpret my statements,
narrating them out of context for political gains is extremely irresponsible
and wrong,” he remarked.
The
speeches of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah served as a guiding principle in
this regard, he said. The two-nation theory evolved as Muslims were persecuted
as a minority prior to partition, he added.
The
lawmaker, who had also served as the country’s foreign minister in the previous
PML-N government and known for his close association with the Sharif family,
said he supported the rights of the minorities as enshrined in the
Constitution. “It is our responsibility to represent the minorities also because
we have a joint electorate where everyone votes in the general election,” he
said.
He said
Islam taught Muslims to protect all humans irrespective of their class, colour
and creed.
He said
Islam made it imperative upon all to raise their voice against injustice and
inequality without any fear.
Mr Asif
thanked those who understood his statement and defended him at various forums.
The PML-N
leader in his speech on the opening day of the National Assembly session last
week had raised the issue of a social media drive against religious minorities.
His
remarks that ‘no religion is superior’ under the Constitution had been
criticised by the religious circles. Soon after his speech in the National
Assembly, Mr Asif was confronted by a number of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA)
lawmakers over his remarks.
Speaking
on a point of order, Mr Asif highlighted what he termed a “planned campaign
against minorities” being run on the social media in retaliation for the Indian
atrocities against Muslims in India-held Kashmir.
“If
minorities don’t feel safe in Pakistan, then it is a matter of shame for us. It
is our responsibility to protect their places of worship,” the PML-N leader had
stated.
Pakistan
was a tolerant society until the 1970s, but “it was after the 1980s that extremism
crippled our thinking [...] fault lines have been created which can be damaging
for the country”, Mr Asif added.
He said
there was a church in Boston where Muslims offered Friday prayers and that once
he had himself offered Eid prayers at a church in New York.
“But we
can’t imagine such a thing happening in Pakistan,” he remarked.
This is a
country of 220 million people, he said, adding that under the Constitution,
everyone had equal rights irrespective of their religion.
“As
public representatives, it is our responsibility to promote tolerance in the
country.”
After the
PML-N leader’s speech, the Minister for Human Rights had promised to take
action against those running the social media campaign against non-Muslim
communities and later on Monday she informed the House that her ministry had
already initiated action.
