Peshawar High Court okays church building inside university
ICC Note:
Progress in Pakistan as court rejects petition from Muslim students hoping to stop the construction of a church at their university.
by Qaiser Felix
AsiaNews (1/24/07) ย Peshawar High Court yesterday gave the green light to the construction of a church inside Peshawarยs non-denominational university, thus rejecting a petition filed by two Muslim students. The ruling was welcomed by the Christian community which sees it as ยa positive example of promoting interfaith harmony in the countryย.
Last January 11, two students from the Agriculture University of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) filed a petition before the High Court to stop the building of a church because it ยwas done without the consent of the institution and can be the cause of further demands by other religious minorities.ย
Judges thought otherwise and authorised the church. In making their ruling they stated that Islam guarantees total religious freedom for minorities and there are no legal obstacles to building places of worship.
Chief Justice Tariq Pervez Khan added that Pakistanยs constitution protects religious minorities. He also noted that Muslims can build mosques and spread their faith in non Muslim countries.
ยThis is good news for Christians,ย said activist Nadeem Anthony. ยThe petition filed by the two young men is representative of an intolerant mindset and a destructive approach to coexistenceย.
In an official statement released today, the Christian Progressive Movement (CPM) expressed its satisfaction for the courtยs decision.
ยThe High Courtยs decision will promote interfaith harmony not only in the North-West Frontier Province but also across the countryย.
NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani, who laid the churchยs foundation stone last December 19, also announced 3 million rupees for the building work.
