Pakistani bishops oppose move to reinstate religion on passports

Published: 2005-03-31

LAHORE, Pakistan (CNS) -- The Pakistani bishops' conference said it opposed a move to reinstate religious affiliations on Pakistani passports because it would discriminate against minority religions. The bishops' National Commission for Justice and Peace said in a March 23 statement that the proposed measure marked a reversal in policy, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. New machine-readable passports introduced in 2004 did not include identification of the holder's religion; before then, passports were handwritten and included a religion column. Peter Jacob, commission executive director, told UCA News that the main issue is one of principle. "If the liberal forces do not make this stand public, the Islamic forces will get a free hand for their demands," he said.

Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .