It was agreed, — That, whereas, Pakistan’s blasphemy laws relating to the desecration or denigration of holy personages, items and places within the Islamic faith have widely been misused to harass and victimize minorities in Pakistan and;
Whereas, attempts to reform or repeal Pakistan’s blasphemy laws have been met by repression and in extreme cases the loss of life as with the assassinations of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer and the federal Minister of Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti and;
Whereas,
Members of the National Assembly putting forward such motions have been threatened and harassed, namely Sherry Rehman and;
Whereas, the perpetrators of these offences, including one Mumtaz Qadri, a bodyguard for Governor Taseer, have been greeted with adulation instead of condemnation and;
Whereas, it was recommended by Canada and the United Nations community in the Universal Periodic Review of 4 June 2008, that Pakistan should be instructed to remove restrictions on religion or belief and amend legislation that discriminates against persons belonging to minorities, including but not limited to Christian, Quadiani, Lhaori and Ahmadi religions;
Your Committee recommends that the Government of Canada urge the Government of Pakistan to amend its domestic legislation so as to reflect its international human rights obligations, particularly its anti-blasphemy provisions, so that they cannot be invoked to harass minorities.