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Church in the WorldChapels for Christians in prisonPakistan Qaiser Felix - 9 February 2008Pakistan's caretaker Government has announced that it will build places of worship for non-Muslims in all of the nation's prisons. Prisoners belonging to various minority groups - which include Catholics, Protestants and Hindus - will soon get places of worship to perform their religious duties at ease, the caretaker Minister for Human Rights, Ansar Burney, announced last month. The human rights body of Pakistan's bishops' conference, the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), and the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) welcomed the move, but called for more serious steps for the improvement of rights of religious minorities. The Human Rights Ministry had already issued instructions for the building of the places of worship, Mr Burney said, adding that construction would start as soon as the funds for the purpose were approved by the Ministry of Finance. Peter Jacob, executive secretary of the NCJP, said: "Certainly it is a welcome decision but it should not be a cosmetic change. "A six-month [reduction in sentence] for Muslim prisoners who learn the Qur'an by heart is available in all prisons of the country, but there is no such concession available for non-Muslims. "Non-Muslims should also be provided with such things," Mr Jacob said. Shahbaz Bhatti, chairman of APMA, said similar pledges had turned out to be empty. He said: "It is a very good announcement and it would be highly appreciated if the Government would implement its announcement because in the past such announcements were made but were not implemented." Mr Bhatti demanded that the Human Rights Ministry should also take notice of prisoners who are falsely accused under discriminatory laws, especially under blasphemy laws, and should make their release possible. Pakistan's interim Government took oath on 16 November 2007 under a caretaker Prime Minister, Muhammadmian Soomro, the day after the National Assembly's five-year term expired. Analysts believe that the interim Government is mainly loyal to President Musharraf. |
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