In one of the most shocking incidents, Sikh families were forced to leave their homes in the Orakzai area of Pakistan after the Taliban demanded the payment of jazia. It was in the wake of the Pakistan parliament passing the Sharia law for Malakand Division of the Northwestern Frontier Province on April 13 that the Taliban imposed jaziya (an Islamic tax to non-Muslims) on the Sikh community (a very tiny religious minority in Pakistan) demanding Rs 50 million. In the face of the Taliban's threat, many Sikh families, of the Feroze Khel area of Merozai in Lower Orakzai Agency, fled to the nearby areas. The Taliban had also forcibly occupied shops of two Sikh businessmen and houses of several Sikhs to force them to pay jaziya. Reportedly, some of the families paid Rs 20 million to Taliban. After getting jaziya tax, the Taliban released Sikh leader Sardar Saiwang Singh and vacated the community's houses. However, some families were given a deadline to pay the jaziya. The Taliban on April 29 demolished 11 and forcibly occupied three houses and 10 shops of Sikh community for refusing to pay jaziya.
Ironically, some of the Muslim groups while seeking to condemn Taliban's action have shown reluctance in rejecting jazia as a discriminatory and unacceptable concept. According to a report Akhtarul Wasey, Head, Department of Islamic Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, on behalf of 22 other academics in a statement said, "However, conditions in the present-day state structure do not necessitate imposition of jaziya because all minorities within this structure enjoy equality of citizenship, equally pay all taxes and are enlisted for all state services. Moreover, such decisions can be taken only by a Central or federal government". It in a way argues that Central and federal government are entitled to impose jazia and not the Taliban. Further attempting to rationalize the concept of jazia, the statement says that according to Islamic Sharia, jaziya is a tax imposed by an Islamic state on such non-Muslims who come under subjugation after being defeated in a war. The jaziya-paying non-Muslims are exempted from paying all other taxes, and are also free from doing military services. Such a rationalization aims at defending jazia as a concept benefiting the ‘defeated' and ‘subjugated' people who are exempted from military service and from other taxes that a Muslim is under ‘compulsion' to pay.
Concepts like jazia are completely unacceptable in civilized world. Any attempt to impose it on non-Muslims or its further rationalization should be condemned in strongest possible terms. No amount of justification would make it a reasonable and just concept. The intelligentsia and masses should unite in rejecting such concepts in unequivocal terms and its supporters should be exposed for their discriminatory and inhuman notions which are in complete contravention to the principles of civilized societies.
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