Hindu pilgrims killed in attack - Sukkar
On May 28, 2006 at Sukkur unidentified gunmen attacked
a convoy of Hindu pilgrims. They were returning from a holy
place when three armed men opened fire on them. Two Hindu men
were killed and seven were wounded in this attack. Daily
The News May 30, 2006
Murder robbery - Jacobabad
On December 31, 2006 three unidentified men shot dead
Ghaloo Mal and injured his son Chander Lal at Munir Rice Mill
in Tangwani police area, Kashmore, Jacobabad.
The armed assailants entered the Mill office and started looting
Ghaloo was gunned down and his son was injured when they resisted.
The robbers escaped with Rs. 250,000. Daily Dawn
January 1, 2006
Illegal deductions
Mukesh Kumar and Tariq Masih of Kharan told that they had been
given 3000 by Bait-ul-Mal every six months, but local postmaster
had started deducting 400 per head and they were given 2600
instead of 3000. NCJP
report
Recommendations
1. We strongly recommend a constitutional arrangement
outlawing religious discrimination which implies an outright
rejection of religious discrimination through constitutional
amendment and establishing institutions to monitor the implementation
of non discrimination as a state policy.
2. In order to eliminate religious discrimination
and intolerance the education curriculum must be thoroughly
revised.
3. Life, liberty, well-being and properties,
places of worship and graveyards should be protected proactively.
4. Religious minorities should be saved from
assimilation by upgrading their social and economic status through
affirmative action. This implies providing sufficient opportunities
for admission in the Colleges and Universities and reservations
of quota and employment.
About the Education and Curriculum
5. Prejudices and biases on account of religion,
sect and gender in the curriculum should be removed. Compulsory
Islamic studies with Arabic as an essential part and the choice
of Ethics for Non – Muslim students isolate and enhance
discrimination against the minorities. For this reason, the
Church leaders recommend that the religious studies only be
offered at college and university levels as an optional subject.
The syllabus content should show equal respect to all religions,
or, there should be no reference to a particular religion.
6. In a multi-religious society (Pakistan)
curriculum should focus on Universal human values and the religious
education can be the responsibility of the family and the respective
religious community institutions. We understand that it is difficult
for the government to arrange for religious education of student
each community according to their respective faiths, which is
otherwise their right under the UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child signed by Pakistan (1990).
The new curriculum should focus on universal human values, leaving
religious education the responsibility of the family and the
respective religious community institutions.
Therefore we recommend in strongest terms that religious studies
should be only given at College and University levels as optional
subject but not as a compulsory subject. Moreover the lessons
must show equal respect to all religions, or, a reference to
one religion should be avoided in all subjects.
7. The cost of education should be brought
down by making adequate budgetary allocation increasing it from
8 to 10 percent of the GDP and these resources should improve
management infrastructure and teacher training methods.
8. Besides measures for making teaching a respectable
profession by providing teachers with good working conditions
and emoluments, it would be important to stamp out corruption,
mal functioning and indiscipline in the education departments
before any education policy can bring some dividends.
9. The current literacy drive is focusing
enrollment of all school age children, which is basically a
good approach. However in the absence of long term and broad
based policy on mass literacy the drop out rate has been enormously
high (over 50 per cent) which is failing the scheme. A serious
consideration needs to be given to this issue.
10. We recommend that education in mother tongue
should be extended to primary classes as recommended by the
UNESCO.
