A tolerant Pakistan

December 25 has a special significance for Christians around the world as the day Jesus Christ was born. For Pakistan, the day is doubly significant, marking also the birth anniversary of the founder of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. This is a very fitting coincidence, serving as both a reminder of how the country’s founder always advocated for religious tolerance and founded Pakistan on these principles and, sadly, how the country has mostly failed to live up to these ideals. Christians are one of the many minority communities in Pakistan, making up slightly over one per cent of the total population. Like almost, if not, all minority groups in Pakistan, they have had to endure a horrific amount of persecution and discrimination on account of their identity. Till today, Christians and other minority groups face discrimination when it comes to employment, housing, education and security. Over the years, the community has had to face violent attacks often perpetrated on the basis of religion.

This state of affairs stands in stark contrast to the principles espoused by Mr Jinnah. His legacy, apart from the country he bestowed us, should have been his determination that Pakistan be a country where a person’s faith should have no bearing on his or her rights as a citizen. It did not take long after Jinnah’s death for us to stray from his path. That being said, there are signs that the country might be taking a more tolerant turn, with major institutions including the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs holding ceremonies this week to mark the occasion of Christmas. On a local level, Karachi Municipal Corporation reportedly paid the salaries of its Christian employees in advance for Christmas celebrations. Such open and prominent displays of interfaith harmony and unity have been rare in Pakistan’s history and one hopes that they will not be limited to Christmas alone.

Today, it is easy to forget that Pakistan began as a country founded by a religious minority seeking to, in part, avoid persecution at the hands of a majority. It is time for the country to recommit itself to the principles of tolerance and pluralism upon which it was founded, not only for the sake of the country’s minorities but for the well-being of the nation as a whole. The persecution and exclusion of certain groups and the creation of fissures within society is not a healthy trend for any nation and its people. In this sense, any attack on minorities is an attack on us all.