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'Government will not allow Taliban to collect jizia'
The government will not allow the Taliban to collect jizia from Sikh families living in Orakzai Agency, said Federal Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti on Tuesday. "The government strongly condemns this demand of jizia by Taliban... It is completely illegal and inhumane and the government will never allow any faction to trample rights of the minorities," Bhatti told a news conference at the Press Information Department. He said the jizia collection was in violation of the constitution. The minister said the government had urged the agency administration to take all measures to protect the Sikh families there. He said a conspiracy was being hatched to malign Pakistan in the name of Talibanisation. To a question about internally displaced minorities in Swat, Buner and Orakzai Agency, Bhatti said around 155 families had been compelled to take refuge in Peshawar and Hassanabdal. To another question, he said the non-Muslim families in Orakzai Agency were forced to leave their homes after they had refused to pay jizia to the Taliban. On the statements by the Indian prime minister and others about ill-treatment of minorities in Pakistan, he said India should improve its own record regarding minorities' rights. Bhatti said several minority families were still living in the Tribal Areas, adding that efforts were underway to safely evacuate them. The minister also announced a relief package for the displaced families. The package includes residence, food items, medical, education and Rs 10,000 in financial assistance for each household. Posted by: Fred 2009-05-06 |
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