Faisalabad: November 18, 2015. (PCP) Professor Anjum James Paul, Chairman, Pakistan Minorities Teachers’ Association (PMTA) has written a letter Ref. No. PMTA/59-71/15 dated November 16, 2015 to Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Chief Justice Supreme Court of Pakistan on the subject “Request to save beliefs and religious freedom of non-Muslim students and teachers”. A detailed letter consists of 31 pages with reservations and recommendations along with the attachments 1. Letter to Prof. Anjum James Paul, Chairman PMTA from Ministry of Education, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad, on 19 September 2007 assuring that there are no biasis in future books. 2. A documentary film “Pakistani Textbooks a Question Mark for Non-Muslims” 3. A document “Pakistani Textbooks a Threat to the Lives and Beliefs of Non-Muslims”. 4. Birth certificate of Sana Shahid, marriage certificate and copy of the First Information Report in the local Police Station. The copies of the letter have been mailed to; Mr Mamnoon Hussain, President of Pakistan, President’s House Islamabad, Mr Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan, Prime Minister’s Secretariat, Islamabad, Mr Baligh ur Rehman, State Minister for Education and Professional Training, Government of Pakistan, Pak Secretariat, Islamabad, Mr Pervaiz Rasheed, Federal Minister for Law, Justice & Human Rights, Government of Pakistan Pak Secretariat, Islamabad, Director General (Human Rights), Ministry of Law, Justice & Human Rights, Government of Pakistan. Islamabad, Mr Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs & Interfaith Harmony, Government of Pakistan, Pak Secretariat, Islamabad, Dr Ramesh Kumar MNA, Chairman Pakistan Hindu Council, Karachi, Rt. Rev. Sebastian Shaw, Archbishop of Lahore, Rt. Rev. Bishop Samuel Azariah, Moderator, National Council of Churches in Pakistan, Lahore, Sardar Sham Singh, President Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee, Lahore, Mr. Isphanyar Bhandara MNA, Rawalpindi and Professor Mehtab Yousaf, Bahai Centre, Islamabad Pakistan Christian Post is publishing recommendations of the content of letter by Pakistan Minorities Teachers’ Association. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Upcoming Education Policy 2016, Curriculum and Textbooks must be according to the guidelines of UNESCO. They must be value-based, quality-based, scientific-based, error free, unbiased, non-discriminatory, with correct information, without repetition of contents at any level, non-controversial and without comparison between or among religions in accordance with the Quaid-e- Azam’s Ideology of equal citizenship, Constitution of Pakistan 1973, UDHR, ICRC, ICCPR and Declaration On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Intolerance And Of Discrimination Based On Religion Or Belief. 2. It is needed to define the status and role of federal government in education after the 18th amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan which is a provincial subject now. In the presence of National Curriculum Council provinces are not autonomous to design and implement their own curriculum. It is needed to strengthen Curriculum Authority of each province. Curriculum Authority and Textbook Boards of all provinces must be responsible for their assignments. 3. It is needed to consider non-Muslim educationists as stakeholders of the education system of Pakistan as well who have played vital role in education and even great leaders like Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Dr Muhammad Iqbal received education from missionary educational institutions. These leaders were proud of their non-Muslim teachers. 4. Non-Muslim students and teachers must not be harassed through textbooks and educational environment. 5. It is utmost need to introduce two new subjects in the scheme of studies, the subjects of “Human Rights” and “Study of Religions” as compulsory ones from grade 1 to grade 12 to promote sense of human rights and respecting beliefs and customs of religions without any comparison. 6. All sorts of biases against non-Islamic religions and non-Muslims must be addressed immediately from the Education Policy, Curriculum and Textbooks. 7. For the completion of 20 points agenda of National Action Plan 2014 strict action must be taken against those printers and publishers who publish material that promotes hate and extremism against non-Muslims through textbooks which leads to religious persecution. 8. There must not be imposition of beliefs and customs of any religion by any means on the students which they do not follow. 9. Appropriate arrangements must be made for the protection of the lives and beliefs of non-Muslim students and teachers. 10. “Religious Education” must be at home otherwise arrangements for the subject of “Religious Education” and teachers must be made for non-Muslim students as well according to their beliefs and customs. 11. It is utmost need to define the status of non-Muslim citizens of Pakistan and their religions in the textbooks. It is also needed to review Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan to promote national unity, social harmony and interfaith harmony in Pakistan and for the existence of the Federal Ministry for Interfaith Harmony. 12. It is needed to promote sense of ownership of all our national heroes of Pakistan in the textbooks. 13. 20 privileged marks must be awarded to non-Muslim students as well so that they may also be able to get admission and concession of fees in higher educational institutions. 14. Five percent quota must be reserved for non-Muslim students in all the general and professional institutions for admission. 15. All the nationalized schools and colleges in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh must be denationalized immediately and handed over to the owners which were nationalized in 1972. 16. Word “Masih”, “Masihi” or “Masihiat” should be used in all written or spoken form instead of “Esa”, “Esai” or “Esayat” for “Jesus Christ”, “Christian/s” or “Christianity.” 17. While applying for admissions or jobs there is a column of religion in which it is written Muslim/ non-Muslim. If it is needed to write religion then there must be simply a column where one can write one’s religion because non-Muslim is not a religion in any sense. It is better to remove this column as it divides the nation on the basis of religion.