Day for religious freedom

First of all, I am grateful to God Almighty who, like every year, blessed me to start the new year by facilitating deserving people to initiate a new life and to contribute something positive for the benefit of the entire society.

During the colourful combined marriage ceremony organised by the Pakistan Hindu Council and Dr Prem Kumar Setal Das Memorial Trust on January 12, 2025, more than one hundred couples tied the knot. On this occasion, I tried my best to deliver a positive message to the international community that religious minorities in Pakistan are free to perform their sacred festivals and rituals according to their religious teachings.

When I was choosing a topic for my weekly column, I found an important date of January 16 on the calendar, which is marked as National Religious Freedom Day in the US. The day commemorates the adoption of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, drafted by Thomas Jefferson, on January 16, 1786, paving the way for the First Amendment to the US Constitution to protect religious freedom. Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of the United States, served as the third president of the US and was also known as the primary author of the Declaration of Independence.

For the past 32 years, it has been a national tradition that the US president begins the day of January 16 every year by issuing a special proclamation highlighting America's achievements related to religious tolerance. On this day, special events are held in various religious places in the US, including churches, mosques, temples and other holy places of worship, while different activities are organised in educational institutions and civil society organisations to highlight the significance of living freely in a civilised society while adhering to their religious beliefs.

Undoubtedly, the US has a significant role in promoting and protecting religious freedom at the global level. The US government claims to combat religious intolerance, discrimination and violence around the world. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), headed by an ambassador-at-large, was established through the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. The US Commission publishes an annual report on religious freedom, which provides detailed information about the status of religious freedom in various countries around the globe.

However, as a patriotic Pakistani citizen, it is a matter of great embarrassment for me that every year the US report describes religious freedom in Pakistan as a serious and crucial problem. Although the US report compilers have not been able to find any significant incidents against minorities in Pakistan last year, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom has recommended to the State Department that Pakistan be declared a country of particular concern due to serious violations of religious freedom.

In my view, our rulers of the past are also responsible for not making regular efforts to project a positive image of our beloved motherland to the international community. While lauding the positive contributions of the PPP for religious harmony and tolerance, I wish that a national day were announced for religious freedom through an act of parliament. The day should begin with an address by the president of Pakistan, to the nation with an emphasis on faith freedom within the constitutional limits.

Patriotic minorities would host celebrations on this day to promote religious harmony and national unity. Throughout the day, Quaid-e-Azam's August 11 speech should be highlighted in newspapers and TV transmissions, in which he assured that all Pakistani citizens would be free to go to their places of worship.

On this proposed day, a comprehensive report on the subject of religious freedom should be issued at the state level in collaboration with civil society and the media, so that the world can be made aware of the real and actual situation of Pakistan in a true sense. In this way, international organisations should not rely on anti-Pakistan propaganda and fake news operated from abroad while compiling their reports about Pakistani minorities and religious freedom.

The writer is a member of the National Assembly and patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council. He tweets/posts @RVankwani