Pakistan: Peshawar High Court nationalises Edwardes college on Oct 23

A private Christian institute in Pakistan- the Edwardes College Peshawar on Wednesday, October 23, has been nationalised under the 1974 notification by the Peshawar High Court leading to a huge setback to the Christian community in Pakistan. According to news reports, the Peshawar High Court on October 1 rejected a petition by the college "requesting to declare the college, which was set up in 1900, as a private institution in light of an earlier judgment delivered by the court in 2016 and to stop the government from interfering in its affairs". Further reports stated that the Christian community feels "back-stabbed" by the Court's decision.

Christian community reacts

The nationalisation of the college sets another example of "systematic and state prosecution of minorities in Pakistan". Reportedly, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has maintained a silence on the issue of the setback to the Christian minorities in Pakistan, hurting minority sentiments further.

According to reports, on October 19, the Christian community leaders have accused the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in Pakistan for interfering in the affairs of the college. Citing this issue, the community has further called on Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to issue an executive order to confirm that Edwardes College Peshawar will remain a private Christian institute and will not be nationalised. However, Khan has remained silent on the issue till now. 

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International community on minorities in Pakistan

The international community has raised the issue of suppression of minorities in Pakistan. On August 23, the United Nations Meet on Safety of Religious Minorities in New York had slammed Pakistan and China over the abuse of minorities such as Ahmadis, Christians and Uighur Muslims respectively in these nations. The UN Meet on Safety of Religious Minorities exposed the bigotry and abuse against minorities in Pakistan. 

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Increasing incidents in Pak

According to reports, the discrimination and suppression of minorities in Pakistan has been increasing. As per reports from news agencies, in just the past few years, a high number of violent incidents have been reported, allegedly in the form of forced abduction, forced conversions and killing of girls from minority communities in the region. 

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(WITH ANI INPUTS)