PESHAWAR Pakistan
- published already some time ago, but imho still deserving attention

Archbishop Lawrence John Saldanha of Lahore has written to the country's president and prime minister expressing concern over the government's allowing of Islamic law to be implemented in the northwest.
"We note with sorrow that your government has failed to take stock of the concerns of civil society in Pakistan in your decision," says the April 16 letter by the head of the Catholic Church in Pakistan. On April 13, President Asif Ali Zardari signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 after it was approved by parliament.
In February, the government of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) reached a peace deal with local Taliban militants, who had been fighting for 18 months to impose Shari'a or Islamic law. The new regulation brings six districts, including the restive Swat Valley, under the Pakistani Taliban's strict interpretation of Shari'a.
Archbishop Saldanha's letter states that "besides jeopardizing the socio-economic and cultural growth in Swat and Malakand (division)," the decision has also given legal sanction to the "dictates of the trigger-happy Taliban." The letter adds that the resolution "erodes constitutional protections for minorities and women." The prelate adds that now minority communities in the province "are forced to end ure unemployment, intimidation and migration." He notes that St. Mary's school, convent and chapel in Sangota, Swat, as well as the Don Bosco School in Bannu, have been bombed. He also points out that Christian, Hindu and Sikh families have been forced to flee because the Taliban imposed on them jizia, a tax levied on non-Muslims living under Islamic rule.
Archbishop Saldanha concluded his letter by insisting that "religion has to be regarded as a personal matter and should have nothing to do with the affairs of state." The archbishop, who is president of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference, and Peter Jacob, executive secretary of the bishops' National Commission for Justice and Peace, signed the letter titled "Protection of Minorities, Militancy and Nizam-e-Adl." Other Christian leaders have also criticized the government for approving Shari'a in Taliban-controlled areas. Prince Javed, a Christian member of the NWFP assembly, told UCA News: "We are still unclear how qazi courts would affect the Christians of these regions." Qazi are judges under the Shari'a system. Javed, also president of the NWFP chapter of the minority AII Pakistan Minority Alliance, asserted that "only the constitution" can safeguard minorities.
A catechist in Peshawar, the NWFP capital, disagreed with having two different sets of laws in the country. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said that the only Catholic church in the city cancelled both its Easter and Christmas celebrations amidst the Taliban threat. Media reports have quoted Muslim Khan, a local Taliban spokesman, as saying it is not subservient to the country's constitution but is committed to Shari'a.

source info: Union of Catholic Asian News