Taliban drive out Sikhs, demand Jizya

By Yasser Latif Hamdani

Those geniuses who have gone hysterical in a self congratulatory manner over Swat peace deal and Nizam-e-Adl etc should pause and see the handiwork of their great peace won. The lessons learnt from the failure of appeasement were never taught wherever it was that our policy makers and Ansar Abbasis and Shireen Mazaris went to school.

HANGU: Sikh families living in Orakzai Agency have left the agency after the Taliban demanded Rs 50 million as jizia (tax) from them, official sources and locals said on Tuesday.

Residents of Ferozekhel area in Lower Orakzai Agency told Daily Times on Tuesday that around 10 Sikh families left the agency after the demand by the Taliban, who said they were a minority and liable to pay the tax for living in the area in accordance with sharia. Locals said the Taliban had notified the Sikh families about the ‘tax’ around a week ago. They said of the 15 Sikh families in Ferozekhel, 10 had shifted while the remaining were preparing to do so. The locals said the families were impoverished and had left the area to avoid any Taliban action.

Those who still claim that a deal with Taliban on the basis of their own version of Sharia is in any way constitutional should consider the news story above and then consider the following articles of the constitution of Pakistan:

20.	Freedom to profess religion and to manage religious institutions. Subject to law, public order and morality:- (a) every citizen shall have the right to profess, practise and propagate his religion; and (b) every religious denomination and every sect thereof shall have the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions.
21.	Safeguard against taxation for purposes of any particular religion. No person shall be compelled to pay any special tax the proceeds of which are to be spent on the propagation or maintenance of any religion other than his own.
22.	Safeguards as to educational institutions in respect of religion, etc. (1) No person attending any educational institution shall be required to receive religious instruction, or take part in any religious ceremony, or attend religious worship, if such instruction, ceremony or worship relates to a religion other than his own. (2) In respect of any religious institution, there shall be no discrimination against any community in the granting of exemption or concession in relation to taxation. (3) Subject to law: (a) no religious community or denomination shall be prevented from providing religious instruction for pupils of that community or denomination in any educational institution maintained wholly by that community or denomination; and (b) no citizen shall be denied admission to any educational institution receiving aid from public revenues on the ground only of race, religion, caste or place of birth. (4) Nothing in this Article shall prevent any public authority from making provision for the advancement of any socially or educationally backward class of citizens.
23.	Provision as to property. Every citizen shall have the right to acquire, hold and dispose of property in any part of Pakistan, subject to the Constitution and any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the public interest.
24.	Protection of property rights. (1) No person shall be compulsorily deprived of his property save in accordance with law. (2) No property shall be compulsorily acquired or taken possession of save for a public purpose, and save by the authority of law which provides for compensation therefore and either fixes the amount of compensation or specifies the principles on and the manner in which compensation is to be determined and given. (3) Nothing in this Article shall affect the validity of :- (a) any law permitting the compulsory acquisition or taking possession of any property for preventing danger to life, property or public health; or (b) any law permitting the taking over of any property which has been acquired by, or come into the possession of, any person by any unfair means, or in any manner, contrary to law; or (c) any law relating to the acquisition, administration or disposal of any property which is or is deemed to be enemy property or evacuee property under any law (not being property which has ceased to be evacuee property under any law); or (d) any law providing for the taking over of the management of any property by the State for a limited period, either in the public interest or in order to secure the proper management of the property, or for the benefit of its owner; or (e) any law providing for the acquisition of any class of property for the purpose of (i) providing education and medical aid to all or any specified class of citizens or (ii) providing housing and public facilities and services such as roads, water supply, sewerage, gas and electric power to all or any specified class of citizens; or (iii) providing maintenance to those who, on account of unemployment, sickness, infirmity or old age, are unable to maintain themselves ; or (f) any existing law or any law made in pursuance of Article 253. (4) The adequacy or otherwise of any compensation provided for by any such law as is referred to in this Article, or determined in pursuance thereof, shall not be called in question in any court.
25.	Equality of citizens. (1) All citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law. (2) There shall be no discrimination on the basis of sex alone. (3) Nothing in this Article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the protection of women and children.
26.	Non-discrimination in respect of access to public places. (1) In respect of access to places of public entertainment or resort not intended for religious purposes only, there shall be no discrimination against any citizen on the ground only of race, religion, caste, sex, residence or place of birth. (2) Nothing in clause (1) shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children.
27.	Safeguard against discrimination in services. (1) No citizen otherwise qualified for appointment in the service of Pakistan shall be discriminated against in respect of any such appointment on the ground only of race, religion, caste, sex, residence or place of birth. Provided that, for a period not exceeding [16][forty] years from the commencing day, posts may be reserved for persons belonging to any class or area to secure their adequate representation in the service of Pakistan: Provided further that, in the interest of the said service, specified posts or services may be reserved for members of either sex if such posts or services entail the performance of duties and functions which cannot be adequately performed by members of the other sex. (2) Nothing in clause (1) shall prevent any Provincial Government, or any local or other authority in a Province, from prescribing, in relation to any post or class of service under that Government or authority, conditions as to residence in the Province. for a period not exceeding three years, prior to appointment under that Government or authority.

Those who claim that Taliban’s Jizya scheme, which essentially creates a “client-master” relationship and reduces Pakistan’s Non-Muslims to the status of ”Dhimmi”, is some how acceptable under the scheme of the constitution that they describe as a “consensus” document should really revisit these articles and open their minds. A “Dhimmi” would have no right to property, free movement, or to take up arms in Pakistan’s Armed Forces and a Dhimmi’s religious freedom would be subject to payment of a tax which is unconstitutional under this present constitutional scheme.