NEW DELHI, INDIA, April 25, 2009: The minorities in Pakistan’s Swat Valley have been forced to flee as the Taliban have imposed a tax on non-Muslims living under Islamic rule. Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (PCBC) president Archbishop Lawrence John Saldanha has urged the Pakistani president and prime minister to intervene.
Expressing concern over the government’s move to allow the imposition of Sharia laws in parts of the North West Frontier Province, the archbishop said in his letter to the Pakistani leaders: “We note with sorrow that your government has failed to take stock of the concerns of civil society in Pakistan in your decision.”