Brussels Belgium January 11 ANI Greek Member of the European Parliament MEP Emmanouil Fragkos lambasted Pakistan over the ongoing persecution of minorities.
Fragkos said in a letter to Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Vice-President of the EU Commission, that everyday life for Christians has been degrading and dangerous for all Pakistan's non-Muslim communities. Christians are treated as second-class citizens, as are Hindus and smaller religious minorities. He said that the European Union hasn't made any real moves to overthrow the dominant governmental policy of Islamist extremism for several years, before the unacceptable situation of cultural decline inside Pakistan.
He gave examples of blasphemy cases related to the persecution of minorities.
26 Christians, who have been condemned by the Pakistani society, have been using the unacceptable anti-blasphemy legislation, said Fragkos.
These laws make non-Muslims vulnerable to enslavement or even physical extermination.
An allegation of blasphemy, even if not proven in court, arms the extremists to render Islamic justice, said the Greek MEP.
16 MEPs have written about the importance of European intervention in Pakistan and elsewhere in tackling the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities.
Fragkos questioned the strategy of the EU, with timetable and specific initiatives to deal effectively with the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan?
Violence against Christians in Pakistan has increased since 2001. Christians are seen as scapegoats for the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, as well as the enormous human suffering, according to the Center for Political and Foreign Affairs CPFA Christians continue to suffer targeted violence and other abuses, including land-grabbing in rural areas, abductions and forced conversion, and the vandalization of homes and churches, and are seen as a result of interventions in other countries with large Muslim populations.