Pakistan Appeals for Detained Christians in Saudi Arabia

Some 40 Pakistani Christians in Saudi Arabia were arrested on 23rd April by the Saudi Arabia authorities during a gathering, according to the report of a local newspaper Al-Riyadh. After more than one week, the status of the detained Christians remains uncertain. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan yesterday appealed to the Pakistan Foreign Minister for an investigation on the case.

Some human rights groups are highly concerned about the conflicting reports in local Saudi newspapers and overseas newspapers.

According to the New York Sun, the translation of an article from a Saudi state-controlled newspapers provided by American-based Saudi monitors said, "...security forces rounded up 40 men, women, and children of Pakistani citizenship who had been worshipping at an abandoned villa in western Riyadh."

However, the Saudi Institute of Washington provided a quote taken from the Al-Riyadh newspaper which reported a security official as saying that the Christians were arrested for "trying to spread their poisonous religious beliefs to others through the distribution of books and pamphlets."

Nina Shea, the Director of the Centre for Religious Freedom of Freedom House, a US-based human right organisation, told the New York Sun, "What they are doing is saying one thing in English and giving another signal to their own people."

The raid against the Pakistani Christians came just a few days before the Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Abdullah met President George Bush in Crawford, Texas to issue a joint declaration in which the Saudis affirmed their commitment to religious tolerance. The raid has therefore raised fears and doubt regarding their pledge.

"They are saying to the hard-liners at home that nothing is going to change. It's a way of speaking out of both sides of their mouth," Shea from the Centre for Religious Freedom of Freedom House commented in New York Sun.

"We don't know for sure if the Pakistanis have been released," she said.

According to Pakistan Daily Times, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) dispatched a letter to the foreign minister on Tuesday, requesting immediate intervention in the case of the 40 Pakistani Christians held in Saudi Arabia. The HRCP demanded immediate release of those arrested.

The HRCP secretary general, Syed Iqbal Haider, stated, "The HRCP was distressed by the detention of 40 Pakistani Christians in Saudi Arabia for praying at a private meeting in Riyadh. The Pakistanis held include a number of women and children. They were arrested because of the Saudi regulation under which practise of any religion other than Islam is illegal."

HRCP also called for the Pakistan Embassy in Saudi Arabia to contact the detained Pakistanis and provide assistance to them.

Saudi Arabia, has been accused of severe violation of religious freedom by the US Department of State. Among its 24-million strong population, 6-7 millions are foreigners. As an official Islamic kingdom, all citizens are required to be Muslims and most of the Christians are from foreign countries. Pakistanis are the third most populous foreign nationality in Saudi Arabia.

The US Department of State has declared Saudi Arabia a "Country of Particular Concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act since September 2004. The US is being criticised by the human rights organisations for not imposing penalties on the Saudi government for its violation of religious freedom even though the deadline has already passed more than a month ago. State Department officials have said they need more time from Congress to decide on an appropriate action to take.