Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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Have we no shame as a nation or people? We are so loud in criticizing our neighbors or the west on their mistreatment of minorities that we cannot even lift up our pens in protest of how our own are treated. This guy, from having served in the army, has now gone to giving up his nationality! SHAME ON US ALL

Silence against injustice is injustice itself.

http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/newsdetails.php?newsid=869

7th August 2006

His Excellency,

General Pervez Musharraf,

President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

President House,

ISLAMABAD.

Subject:- Request for Acceptance of “Surrender” of My Pakistani Nationality.

Your Excellency, I write these words with utter disappointment and distress, that my pride and confidence in my “Pakistani Citizenship” has been totally shattered. The ignorance for Christians at every level that prevails in Pakistan. The hate and that I see for Christians in Pakistan, and the scornful and disdainful attitude of Muslim majority towards us and the way we face affront and despicable treatment in Pakistan. This deplorable condition of Christians in Pakistan has exhausted my tolerance. I have lost my confidence in Pakistan in most painful way. My confidence in you, Your Excellency has also been shattered because of your silence or ignorance on the deplorable conditions that we are living with in Pakistan. My love and loyalty to Pakistan is diminishing fast because of your ignorance towards me and my fellow Christians living in Pakistan. Your Excellency, please note that you are the only person I voted for in year 2002 and I only accept you my personally elected representative. I have written you a number of letters on very important issues concerning sad state of Christians since September 2005, they remain unanswered even to this day. You have totally and mercilessly forgotten us, Your Excellency. Therefore I have no option left but to rethink of my “Oath” of loyalty to Pakistan that I took on 19th August 1972 and which I have never broken or forgotten. As I see no hope for Christians in Pakistan, that include me, I hereby “Surrender” my “Pakistani Nationality” the status that was once my pride, has become “Meaningless” for me for following specific reasons.

  1. Despite of all my loyalty and love for your country, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, I am not recognized as a Pakistani by the Muslim majority and the government of Pakistan. This is extremely painful for me.

  2. In Pakistan, the Christians including me are facing extreme hate, discrimination and detestation by Muslims. We are unwanted people in Pakistan, as I experience every day. This attitude of Muslims is not acceptable to me any more.

  3. According to the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, I have very “Limited Rights”. Rather I have no rights at all. The Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan has curtailed the rights of Christian minority and has fixed a ceiling of our rights. We have no chance of any progress or prosperity despite all the qualification, ability and merit. We are pushed back at every level. This is also not acceptable to me any more.

  4. Muslim scholars and self proclaimed third rate scholars who have no standing in civil society of Pakistan, and who have no knowledge of even Islam, for the purpose of insult of our “Ecclesiastical Office or Commission”, feel pride in dragging our Ecclesiastical Office and Religious Commission” in the Courts of Pakistan. This is neither bearable nor acceptable for me any more.

  5. A Maulvi from Karachi has file a malicious “Law Suit” in Sindh High Court Karachi against me. I have written letters to His Honor, The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Honorable Chief Justice of Sindh and to you, Your Excellency on 11th May 2006. These letters were mailed via “TCS” on 15th May 2006 and were received in your office on 16th May 2006 at 12:43 PM. In three months time, all I experienced was a deep silence from all corners. This ignorance has revealed the reality on me that there is no one who is a bit interested to look after or care for my legal yet “Limited Rights” given to me as “Privilege” and check this Maulvi who feels pleasure in insulting my Religion, the Holy Bible and the Holy Personage of Christianity. He is cashing his Islamic identity at every level and enjoying “Extra Rights” and protection by the government and Judiciary in Pakistan. This also is neither bearable nor acceptable for me any more.

Therefore very earnestly, I wish to inform you, Your Excellency that

after August the 10th 2006, it would not be possible for me to carry the burden of my “Limited, Crippled and Meaningless Citizenship” of your Pakistan. Therefore, I “Surrender” my “Pakistani Citizenship” and hand it over to you, Your Excellency. From here on wards, I will live in your country as an “Alien” who has no Nationality.

I would very humbly request you, Your Excellency, that please make a law, whereby me and my family can get a “Non Pakistani Resident” Identity Card as I will return my “National Identity Card” as soon as I am given the status of “Non Pakistani Resident”. Along with my nationality, I also surrender my “Pride” that once I was a Pakistani who still loves Pakistan and who has rendered “some” services to Pakistan in its defense and internal security.

Your Excellency, if my request can not accepted, then I may please be declared “Persona None Grata” and expelled to a non Muslim country, so that I don’t face any more insult of my religion, the Holy Bible and the Holy Personage of Christianity. I am attaching the photo state copy of my “National Identity Card” which will be of no use to me after my request is accepted. Your Excellency, I have no regrets on my letters or its wording.

Thanking you in anticipation Your Excellency,

Faithfully Yours,

Bishop Dr. Major (Retired) Timotheus Nasir.

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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

Kehkshan,

It is more like a hate-Mulsim issue than surrendering Pakistani Nationality. He has not mentioned any specific problem except maligning Muslims. How many Muslims are hated by Christians where there is Christian rule? Perhaps no comparison.

FARID

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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

If this is discrimination then more than half of the Muslim population of Pakistan should also surrender their citizenship based on the treatment they face in Pakistan.

Pakistanis should wake up to the fact that we have one of the worst police and judicial systems, which works against its own citizens for the sake of the few powerful and for few dollars, money is the officail religion in Pakistan.

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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

Farid, this is not any hate Muslim issue. We all know that non Muslims have less rights in our laws based on "sharia".

MiniMe, that I would agree with, but the fact is that non Muslims have it particularly bad, even if they gain some status in society.

GS Supreme Court!
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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

This is pretty sad. I just hope his action will lead to some progress in the governments mentality (probably not thoguh :( ).

Not to take away from the discrimination against Christians, which is quite evident based on the 'social ladder' or 'caste' that we have constructed, but Pakistani's in general are very segregation-minded. Shia's, Sunni's, Ahmadis, Wahabis, Hindus, Sikhs... every group is discriminated against. Some more than others.

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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

Khehkeshan, so you think that non muslims are treated bad because the lwas in Pakistan are based on Sharia, thats one mighty excuse. Sharia is such an easy scapegoat.

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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

That's not the only problem, but one of the bigger problems we have in Pakistan and other Muslim countries. We no longer have the ability to even use our common sense to change laws that are obviously discriminatory in both wording and practice. Why? Because if anyone challenges these laws, the mullahs will come out of the woodwork and proclaim that the law is according to the Quran and Sunnah and can never be changed.

Religious law of any kind stifles debate no matter where it is implemented. That is one of Pakistan's biggest problems. We need to start using logical reasoning and stop using faith based reasoning which has led to so much abuse already.

least used smileys
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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

Khehkashan, I agree with Farid that there is no specific incident he is referring to. If he is doing it due to the in general condition of Christians in Pakistan then he should know that they are better in discrimination/persecution than what Ahmedis face but they still thrive. I don't know what he is really looking for as a solution, is he asking for a special quota for jobs everywhere? is he asking for separate laws for them? I couldn't figure out what his demands are, only that he is disappionted in Pakistan.

There are many more disappointed people in Pakistan, ask Balochis for example. Should they quit citizenship?

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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

I posted this few years ago..

http://www.paklinks.com/gs/showthread.php?t=23172&highlight=christian+population

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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

They already have, some of them anyway by fighting and not recognizing government authority.

He’s asking for laws were he would be an equal to a Muslim.

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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

Do you mean to say that he should not quit the citizenship just because he is disappointed and there are other people who are also disappointed but have not quit the citizenship yet?

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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination


I asked before, what other laws are there to discriminate against Christians? I only knew about one which I mentioned earlier, is there any other law?

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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

Yes.

[quote]
and there are other people who are also disappointed but have not quit the citizenship yet?
[/quote]
Yes, there are many, but does that mean they quit? If you were facing hardships in life, would you commit suicide?

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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

After reading all replies, I have a question......

'Do Muslims actually discriminate minorities in Pakistan'???

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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

Captain1, the answer is very subjective to your questions.

Captain1: If you were facing hardships in life, would you commit suicide?

You cannot use the above question as an analogy to the current discussion. Giving up citizenship (not a cowardly act, working against the country is cowardly) is not tantamount to suicide (cowardly act, though still depends on the situation).

I do not have a first hand experience of the condition of minorities in Pakistan. But all I wanted to say is that if an ex army man (army men are almost always the most nationalist men in the country) is so disillusioned at the current state of minorities in the country and is planning to quit the country, then one must seriously take note of the situation. A soldier will be the last person to give up his citizenship.

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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

there is simple procedure and form to surrender of nationality available and its normal procedure carried out by many muslims and non muslims of Pakistan, why he has to create a show and write to president to surrender his nationality. He certainly wish to gain attention from western media and hence a asylem and settle there.

However its sad to hear such things, All the christian I came across during my studies in Pakistan, have done very well in their life, follwoing are only from one batch fellows and friends during my MSc in Lahore. this is just one evidence

  1. NS , M.Sc. works for nestle in IT management
  2. ND, M.Sc, works for Shell Trading, as Senior Programmer
  3. VD, M.Sc works for World Bank in Pakistan
  4. KJM, MBA, a lecturer in leading Pakistan university
  5. AM, MBA Zonal Head with multinational bank in Pak
  6. ACh, MBA works for a major bank.

high concentration of christians in class of 20 or so in higher education sector, depicts that they are not suppressed, and all of us got jobs straight after graduation and christian faith didnt come in the way at all.

People like major exists all over pakistan regardless of relegion who always thing what Pakistan has given to them! that includes Muslims too.

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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

The comparison is similar in the sense that things don't go your way you keep struggling. It doesn't take an year or 5 years to change what he called "hate the minorities".... instead he could've started some sort of movement/organisation to counter it rather than talking to government knowing full well how incomepetent our governments are to take notice of "public".

[quote]
I do not have a first hand experience of the condition of minorities in Pakistan. But all I wanted to say is that if an ex army man (army men are almost always the most nationalist men in the country) is so disillusioned at the current state of minorities in the country and is planning to quit the country, then one must seriously take note of the situation. A soldier will be the last person to give up his citizenship.
[/quote]
All minorities do face discrimination and persecution to some extent in one part of the country or other, be it religious minority or ethnic minority. It takes time and effort to change something.

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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination


Yes they do, when they make money as their religion and still call themselves as Muslims.

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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

My point is that you cannot blame him for not starting a movement/organisation and instead giving up the citizenship of the country.

I agree.

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Re: Sad day: Pak Christian gives up his nationality to protest discrimination

Do you want to say that poor Muslims do not discriminate the minorities?

And what do you say about political sermons against Christians, Jews and Hindus at masjids after prayers?

I am sure that these seromons full of venom leave a great impact on Muslim’ psyche.