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House Hansard - 176

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 30, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 176 - Mar/30/23
Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)
  • Mar/30/23 10:18:40 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions to present to the House today, and I am grateful for the opportunity. The first petition concerns the human rights conditions of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, which has contributed so much to our country but sadly faces serious persecution in many parts of the world. Petitioners note horrific comments made by a senior cleric of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik party in Pakistan, advocating violence against pregnant Ahmadiyya women and calling for horrific violence targeting the Ahmadiyya community. Petitioners also that note Ahmadiyya Muslim children are being expelled from school in the Attock district simply because of their faith identity. They note that Pakistan is a signatory to the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion”, and that this right includes freedom to “manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance”. Canadians who signed this petition are concerned about the safety of minorities in Pakistan, including Ahmadiyya Muslims, but also Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and other Muslim minority communities. They call on the government and the House to condemn the encouragement and calls to violence we have seen from certain figures in Pakistan, especially Muhammad Naeem Chattha Qadri, the cleric I referred to earlier; to defend the right of Pakistani Ahmadiyya children to attend school; to urge the Pakistani government to condemn violence against the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and all religious minorities; and also to urge the Government of Pakistan to reform or eliminate blasphemy laws, which are used to disproportionately target religious minorities. I thank petitioners for their work on that very important issue.
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