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        <title>Christian Daily International | Politics</title>
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                <title><![CDATA[Evangelical alliance leaders, Costa Rican lawmakers discuss Christian influence on public policy]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/evangelical-alliance-leaders-costa-rican-lawmakers-discuss-christian-influence-on-public-policy</link>
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                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Javier Bolaños]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiandaily.com/media/original/img/0/54/5449.png">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Evangelical alliance leaders meet Christian lawmakers at Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ Diario Cristiano / CDI ]]>
                                </media:credit>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Evangelical alliance leaders meet Christian lawmakers at Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Sun, 18 Oct 2026 20:25:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Presidents of evangelical alliances from across Ibero-America met with Christian lawmakers at Costa Rica's Legislative Assembly on Wednesday (Oct. 14) to discuss how evangelicals can shape public policy without bringing partisan politics into the pulpit.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Presidents of evangelical alliances from across Ibero-America met with Christian lawmakers at Costa Rica's Legislative Assembly on Wednesday (Oct. 14) to discuss how evangelicals can shape public policy without bringing partisan politics into the pulpit.
The forum, titled "Called to Govern," took place in the assembly's Hall of Former Presidents during the 13th General Assembly of the Latin Evangelical Alliance (AEL), which concluded in San José on Friday. Leaders of the Costa Rican Evangelical Alliance Federation (FAEC) and the organization Foro Mi País also took part.
Speakers discussed the history of evangelical political participation in the region, cases before electoral and constitutional courts, legislative reforms in defense of life and the need to train Christian professionals for public service. A Costa Rican pastor described written commitments to Christian values signed by the country's president, and recounted being sanctioned by the electoral tribunal over his political work.
The day began with a video address by evangelist and international speaker Alberto Mottesi, who offered a sociological and theological analysis of the growth of the evangelical church in the region and its limited impact on the structures of the nations.
Citing the work of political scientist Samuel Huntington on the factors of cultural transformation in Latin America, Mottesi pointed to the growth of the evangelical movement. He described it through three current theological concepts that he said are setting the course of the continent: revival, reformation and renaissance.
"When I began in ministry, we had the idea that many converted people in a nation were going to transform that nation. And there are countries in Latin America where 50%, without exaggeration, declare themselves evangelical Christians, but we have not seen that transformation. In fact, I firmly believe that we have the most numerous church in history worldwide — not only in Latin America — but at the same time the one with the least social, political and economic influence in all of history," Mottesi said.
A comprehensive vision beyond a single issue
Mottesi said the lack of impact stems from the absence of deep structural changes in society. Although the defense of life has been the main focus of new Christian politicians on the continent, he said, legislation must cover all areas of public life.
"Lately, the new politicians of Christian faith who burst onto the life of their nations raised the pro-life banner; but pro-life is not enough. It is extremely important, but it does not go far enough. We need to carry God's thoughts, God's plans, into every sphere of life. When we look at the Holy Scriptures through these lenses, we discover that God speaks about every detail of life, including politics and government," he said.
He also set out his position on secularism and the role of the state with regard to faith.
"I agree with the separation of church and state or nation, but it is impossible to separate a nation from the source of life, the eternal Creator. We can and must separate the church as it is, an institution, from the government of a nation; but we cannot, must not, and do not have permission to separate a nation from God."
Historical context and political agreements of the evangelical sector in Costa Rica
FAEC President Pastor Ronald Vargas welcomed the international delegations and described the national church's coordinated efforts to have influence beyond church buildings.
"A church cannot be totally isolated from what happens in its communities. The Word says that we are salt and that we are light, and as such we cannot be holding our events within four walls; rather, we have to be part of everything that has to do with the country," Vargas said.
He then gave the floor to Pastor Reinaldo Salazar, director of the Foro Mi País project and pastor of Templo Bíblico.
Salazar gave a broad overview of the Protestant presence in Costa Rica from independence in 1821 to the present. He divided it into stages, from religious intolerance and persecution in the 19th century to the founding of the Costa Rican Evangelical Alliance in June 1950 and the emergence of Christian-inspired political parties from the 1980s onward.
"From 1980 until now, we have been forced to enter into politics not because we wanted to be politicians, but because of the whole historical background of persecution, of intolerance. They would not let us into hospitals to see our sheep who were sick; they would not let us into prisons — I am talking about pastors — to attend to particular cases; they would close churches for any reason. So the evangelical sector made the decision to enter politics, and the first evangelical parties emerged," Salazar said.
He noted that the country's first evangelical lawmaker was elected in 1998.
From legislative activism to commitments with the executive branch
Salazar said that in November 2001 he took part in the founding of the Ibero-American Forum for Evangelical Dialogue (FIDE), the predecessor of the AEL, in Caracas. There, he said, he identified a common gap in the region.
"At the lunches and breakfasts with the presidents, I came to discover a common element: that the evangelical sector wanted to make changes through politics. The problem is that we were brandishing an empty scabbard, because in no country was there any concrete project that had a vision of government for a nation," he said.
Salazar said that between 2006 and 2022, under governments of the National Liberation Party (PLN) and the Citizens' Action Party (PAC), the evangelical sector suffered setbacks on sex education policy, the implementation of the technical standard on abortion, and the approval of same-sex marriage following an advisory opinion from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Unable to reverse these measures through Congress alone or through appeals to the Constitutional Chamber, he said, pastoral leaders decided to seek policy agreements with presidential candidates in the 2022 elections.
According to Salazar, after meetings with the presidential hopefuls in 2022, then-candidate Rodrigo Chaves Robles signed a commitment to halt the gender ideology agenda in the education system and to oppose abortion and euthanasia initiatives. Chaves certified in writing in March 2025 that the agreement had been fulfilled, Salazar said.
For the 2026 election cycle, Salazar showed the Latin American delegates the original document signed by President Laura Fernández Delgado, her two vice presidents and the ruling Pueblo Soberano party’s 57 candidates for deputy.
"This letter of commitment, which you have in your booklet, is a letter of Christian values that came from us. The president signed it, the two vice presidents signed it, and the party's 57 candidates for deputy signed it, in which they committed that their entire government during these four years would be on the foundation of these Christian values," Salazar said.
He added that in August the party, which holds 31 seats in the assembly, formally incorporated those principles into its statutes.
Electoral restrictions and inter-American jurisprudence
Salazar also described the legal consequences he faced after he was reported to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) for distributing the booklet on those agreements among pastors.
Article 28 of Costa Rica's Constitution prohibits political propaganda that invokes religious motives. But Salazar said the TSE did not sanction him under that provision. Instead, it argued that his leadership among pastors "enhances his capacity to influence and persuade electoral behavior, which constitutes undue interference in free electoral self-determination."
The Constitutional Chamber, known as the Sala Cuarta, rejected four amparo appeals — petitions for the protection of constitutional rights — on the grounds that the matter fell under the TSE's exclusive jurisdiction. His lawyers proposed taking the case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, but Salazar decided to stop the litigation there.
"That's where we stopped everything. That's where I stayed. Why? Because if the Court, which is woke, which is progressive, rules saying, 'Yes, the conviction of that pastor stands,' it's not affecting me: it is going to affect all the pastors on the continent. And so we said, 'No, we are not going to do that,'" Salazar said.
Leadership, character and service from parliamentary seats
Ruling-party lawmaker Gonzalo Ramírez then gave the keynote address, titled "Who decides the future when good leaders do not participate?" Ramírez is a lawyer, a former president of the Legislative Assembly and the author of the book Llamados a gobernar (Called to Govern).
Pointing to an empty chair in the hall, Ramírez reminded the alliance presidents that Costa Rica's parliament is unicameral and has only 57 seats.
"I ask: if Gonzalo had not participated in 2014, and the Christian sector had not participated by supporting Gonzalo, would the seat Gonzalo would have occupied have stayed empty? No! Someone was always going to fill it. Because whether or not you participate does not interest them; what interests them is that their people get in. And if there are no people reaching those places with a right heart, who is going to get there? People with perverse hearts," he said.
Preserving rights and training new generations
Ramírez warned that civil and religious liberties are lost gradually when Christian citizens stay out of decision-making spaces.
"Rights are gained little by little, but rights are also lost little by little," he said.
He said that during a course on civil and religious liberties at the University of Oxford, his own election as president of the Costa Rican Congress was presented as a case study of a public official challenged solely for coming from the evangelical Christian sector.
Ramírez presented a four-pillar framework for public engagement: character as the foundation, influence as the bridge, service as the method and transformation as the goal. He defined transformation as "lasting positive change."
"Leadership does not begin with the privileges of a position, but with the willingness to take on responsibilities that others prefer to avoid," said Ramírez, who urged pastors to prepare the next generation for public service.
"If God called you to be a pastor, blessed be God. But there are others around you whom God may well have called to be in positions of influence. What are you doing to prepare them, equip them, train them and send them? What are we doing so that they go and represent us and take these seats that are not going to stay empty?" he asked.
Constitutional reforms and defense of life in the plenary
Three other Costa Rican lawmakers from the legislative bloc aligned with Christian principles described the bills they are promoting in the Legislative Assembly.
Deputy Kattia Mora described entering public service without a previous political career. She said congregations should encourage their members' academic preparation so they can hold positions of national importance.
"We have already presented proposals for constitutional reform on the issues that matter to the sector: life, family, protection of life. In fact, we presented the reform to Article 21: 'Human life is inviolable.' The one we have now puts a period there; we put a comma, adding: 'from conception to natural death,'" Mora said.
"Politics is not of the devil; politics is an area where we can exert influence with responsibility, with wisdom and with the fear that comes from heaven," she added.
Cindy Murillo, a deputy for Guanacaste province and chair of the International Affairs Committee, spoke about her call to legislative service.
"Four years ago I walked in through those doors, and the first thing I did was look up to heaven and say to him: 'Lord, if it is for me, in four years, if you so will, help me to become a deputy of the Republic to serve you, the Scriptures and the people of Costa Rica.' And God spoke to me, and today I am a deputy of the Republic. That is why I fear God; I serve him, my family and this country," she said.
Deputy Gerald Bogantes, vice president of the National Front for Life (Frente Nacional por la Vida) and a former member of the youth commissions of the AEL and the FAEC, spoke about bills to protect life in the Penal Code and the group's role as a check within Congress.
"Something that really strikes me is that the other deputies who perhaps are not from the evangelical sector notice in us — perhaps a mini-caucus, a mini-group — and they know that here, in these four years, not a single anti-life, anti-family or anti-religious-freedom bill is going to pass, because our convictions give us that clarity," Bogantes said.
The position of the Latin Evangelical Alliance and the World Evangelical Alliance
Closing the presentations, AEL President Pastor Juan Cruz acknowledged the progress described by the Costa Rican delegation. He set out the position the region's evangelical alliances hold on political training and on keeping partisan politics out of churches.
"We always talk with the presidents about reading the times well, understanding the times. And yes, one thing we agree on is forming people, training them. What we are always careful about is not bringing partisan politics into our churches, because that is where we believe we could run a dangerous risk, as happens in some countries and we later regret it, because when the elections are over, the one who suffers is the people," Cruz said.
He said church members and pastors have different callings, and that representative bodies have a guiding role.
"Within the churches there are spectacular professionals who have the calling to serve the nation. Well, the pastor has a different calling: to preach the word, to form people... We, from the evangelical alliances, are going to take care of the alliances; we are going to motivate the people to go and vote according to their principles and values; but you are not going to find any alliance issuing a statement saying 'vote for such-and-such candidate or vote for the other one.' At least we don't get into that; that is very clear for us. But we are going to tell people: vote for people who defend life, the family, principles, values, religious freedom — and that is the path of the evangelical alliances."
World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Secretary General Botrus Mansour, a native of Nazareth, Israel, then spoke to the lawmakers and the national alliance presidents.
"I believe that being a Christian political believer is something very important. And if God is in it, and if you truly represent God, you can make a great difference not only in your country but for the whole continent. We have been called to be salt and light in our families and, of course, also in our churches, in small communities; but if God has also called you to make a difference in the country as a whole, that will be a great blessing for the whole country," Mansour said.
He said caring for the family and legislative work in Congress are both part of the same service to the kingdom of Christ.
Original reporting by Diario Cristiano, Christian Daily International's Spanish edition.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA['It is Jesus Christ who has me here,' Costa Rica's president tells evangelical leaders]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/it-is-jesus-christ-who-has-me-here-costa-rica-s-president-tells-evangelical-leaders</link>
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                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Javier Bolaños]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Costa Rican President Laura Fernández addresses delegates at the opening of the 13th General Assembly of the Latin Evangelical Alliance (AEL) in San José, Costa Rica, on Oct. 12, 2026.]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ Diario Cristiano / CDI ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Costa Rican President Laura Fernández addresses delegates at the opening of the 13th General Assembly of the Latin Evangelical Alliance (AEL) in San José, Costa Rica, on Oct. 12, 2026. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2026 13:25:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Costa Rican President Laura Fernández Delgado told evangelical leaders from across Latin America on Monday that she placed her country "at the feet of Jesus Christ" when she took office and that God brought her to the presidency to fight organized crime.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Costa Rican President Laura Fernández Delgado told evangelical leaders from across Latin America on Monday that she placed her country "at the feet of Jesus Christ" when she took office and that God brought her to the presidency to fight organized crime.
Fernández, who is Catholic, gave the opening address at the 13th General Assembly of the Latin Evangelical Alliance (AEL) in San José. Delegates from 22 Ibero-American countries attended. The AEL's member alliances represent more than 160 million believers, according to its president, Juan Cruz Cellamare.
In a lengthy and personal speech, Fernández spoke about her faith, her reliance on prayer and her pro-life convictions. She also pledged that Costa Rica would maintain "absolute freedom of worship" while her government pursues "a strong values agenda — and not just any values: Christian values."
Also present were the AEL board of directors, led by Cruz; leaders of the Costa Rican Evangelical Alliance Federation (FAEC), including its president, Pastor Ronald Vargas Badilla; World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Secretary General Botrus Mansour; and Jorge Gómez Varela, AEL vice president and a WEA international board member.
'It is Jesus Christ who has me here'
Gómez Varela introduced Fernández, saying she has not been ashamed of the Gospel in more than two decades of public life. She began by responding to that introduction.
"Don Jorge: How could I feel ashamed to speak about the Gospel, or how could I feel ashamed to say that I am a person of Christian principles and values, when it is Jesus Christ who has me here?" she said. "That would be absolutely unthinkable for me as President of the Republic, since it is so clear to me that the one who decides where I am, where I will be and everything I have lived through is the Lord alone; and not just any Lord: the King of kings and the Lord of lords, Jesus Christ, our heavenly Father."
Fernández said she dedicated her government to God from the start.
"From the moment I took office as President of the Republic, I placed Costa Rica at the feet of Jesus Christ. There has not been a single day as President of Costa Rica when I have not felt the presence of God in my life and in the office I hold," she said.
She also recalled her recent participation in a Bible Day commemoration at the Legislative Assembly, where she described Scripture as a reference point for those who govern.
"To recognize in the Holy Scriptures a book of governance, to recognize in the Holy Scriptures road maps that have led kings and rulers to success and to failure throughout human history, is not to speak about religion: It is to speak about a truth that is within reach of anyone who wants to read and understand it," she said.
Fernández said she turns to prayer when facing difficult decisions of state.
"When I have a particularly difficult challenge ... I always say: 'My God, here I go. Hold my hand tight, dear God, because here I go and I am going to take this step,' which is difficult, which is complex, but I always manage to find that small moment of intimacy to place myself in His hands."
The fight against narcoterrorism
Fernández said she prays to be useful to the country. "I always say to Him: 'My God, I am an empty vessel and I want you to fill me. Fill me, tell me where to go, how I can serve you, what more I can do, how I can please you even more.'"
She described the main battle of her administration in both practical and spiritual terms.
"God brought me here to fight to banish narcoterrorism from Costa Rica, to banish organized crime. So that Costa Rica does not become a paradise for organized crime," she said.
"And that is no ordinary fight. And that is not a fight against people of flesh and blood like us. That is a much heavier battle that we have to wage united. But I am waging it with a heart that beats very strongly, because I am certain that it is a war we can win with God's help and the work of all our teams."
She asked those present for prayer, saying it matters more to her than gifts or honors.
"When they give me flowers or give me a very beautiful Bible — I have some gorgeous Bibles — or give me some award, I always tell them the same thing: 'Thank you very much, but give me prayer. Give me prayer.' That is the most important thing you can give me."
Pro-life commitment and national sovereignty
Fernández recalled her years of activism in civic pro-life groups and her opposition to what she called "gender ideology."
"We were from the pro-life groups, from the groups that were fighting against gender ideology, those of us who have always dreamed of a constitutional reform that recognizes that human life begins at natural conception and ends at natural death ...
"At first, when I put this before Him, I said to Him: 'Oh, Lord, this is a lovely opportunity I am going to have to straighten out a whole lot of things in Costa Rica.' A whole lot of things that I had talked about with don Ronald, with don Jorge, with many of you for a long time: gender ideology, the issue of our children, who are so sacred, the issue of our children starting to be asked whether they are an 'elle,' a 'he' or a 'she' ...
"Things about which I would say: 'If I were president, I would fix all of that.' The United Nations, which at times wants to impose itself on the sovereignty of countries with progressive woke criteria and other things besides ... to set right the course that progressive and even leftist governments steered us onto for a time."
"Elle" is a gender-neutral pronoun used by some Spanish speakers.
Fernández said that resolving these issues in the first weeks of her government led her to reconsider her mission.
"A month after we resolved that ... — and it's not that there isn't still road to travel, because there always is — but you know, I have thought: 'My God, did you bring me here for a task I could complete in a month? I don't think so.' And it was a big challenge and it needs follow-up, certainly, but now you and I can breathe very easy about that, right?
"So ... after much reflection on that, I found a new purpose in my calling to presidential service, because this is a service, like the one you provide. This is a calling to public service, using politics as an instrument to achieve human dignity and the common good."
Catholic faith and religious freedom
Fernández said she sees no conflict between her Catholic faith and praying with evangelicals.
"I am not evangelical; I am Catholic. And for me, being Catholic has never meant that I cannot pray with an evangelical brother," she said.
Responding to people who question why she joins evangelical leaders in celebrations and prayer while attending Mass, she said: "I have always believed that any path that leads us to Jesus Christ, to working and to being people of values, of faith, good Christian people ... I believe you can go to Jesus Christ by road, you can go by boat, you can take a plane; perhaps someone takes a longer, steeper route, but as long as the path leads us to Him, to His truth, to what He expects of us, leads us into a spiritual communion of doing good and giving ourselves for our neighbor, of loving one another, of respecting one another, I believe the paths that lead us to Him should be what divides us least and what most seeks to unite us."
She also spoke about her commitment to vulnerable communities and her practice of working with them directly, outside the presidential office.
"I am a person who is never, ever ashamed of her faith, and who, in this position to which the Lord brought me, will do everything within my reach so that the people of Costa Rica ... have better conditions to live with love, as families."
Fernández acknowledged the work of churches in social projects, including Proyecto Abraham (Project Abraham), and restated her government's position on freedom of religion.
"Costa Rica's doors are wide open to support the Church's various missions. This is a country where we have absolute freedom of worship, absolute respect for freedom of worship, where there is no persecution on the basis of religious creed, and in addition, as long as I am President of the Republic, we will continue to drive a strong values agenda — and not just any values: Christian values."
'Whom do I want to please?'
Fernández shared advice Gómez Varela gave her privately during a lunch at Casa Presidencial. She said she now uses it as a rule for difficult decisions.
"Don Jorge told me something, and I have told it to a whole lot of people since that day: 'When you are unsure about a difficult decision you have to make, think about whom you want to please with the decision you are going to make. Whom do you want to please with your decisions?'"
She told the evangelical leaders how she applies it:
"Faced with any question about a difficult decision to make: Whom do I want to please? Jesus Christ and the people of Costa Rica. Whom do I serve? Whom do I serve in this position? Whom do I want to please? Whom do I want to serve? A business group? No. A TV channel? No. Economic groups in Costa Rica? No. Magistrates? No. Whom do I truly want to please as a public servant? And of course — I'd have to be a fool otherwise, when I have an eternal life to look after. Well, of course!"
Family origins and public career
Fernández, a specialist in public policy and democratic governance, reviewed her career. She said she worked on state reform projects from an early age, directed parliamentary advisory services at the Legislative Assembly and worked in municipal government. She described these stages as preparation guided by God.
She said she comes from a family with no ties to traditional politics.
"When the opportunity came to me to be a candidate for the presidency of the Republic — I am the daughter of a retired educator; no one in my family is involved in politics, much less electoral politics. My father is a pensioner; he was a farmer, a construction businessman, he had a tiny family business — what I want to tell you with this is that my family's wallet was not big enough to sponsor an election campaign for some curious daughter or one with that professional calling.
"But when the opportunity came to me to be the candidate for the presidency of the Republic, of course the first thing I did was to take it to prayer, because it is an enormous decision, a complex one to make, at a complicated moment."
Fernández noted that she is the second woman to serve as Costa Rica's president. She said her husband, Jeffrey, has joined the small group of 13 first gentlemen currently serving around the world.
Reaction from regional evangelical leaders
After the address, Cruz thanked Fernández for attending. He said the AEL brings together 24 national alliances and fellowships in 22 countries, representing more than 160 million believers and more than 400,000 local congregations.
Cruz said churches serve in neighborhoods, prisons, hospitals and schools, generally without state funding, and that pastors are willing to work with civil authorities for the good of society. He encouraged the president to persevere, citing Joshua 1:9.
Vargas Badilla, the host pastor, thanked Fernández for making room in her schedule. He asked the international delegations to hold a week of continuous prayer for the presidency and for peace in Costa Rica.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[India locks down capital, detains Gen Z protest leaders over voter roll dispute]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/india-locks-down-capital-detains-gen-z-protest-leaders-over-voter-roll-dispute</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/india-locks-down-capital-detains-gen-z-protest-leaders-over-voter-roll-dispute</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Surinder Kaur]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Police officers detain a protester during a demonstration on October 10, 2026 in New Delhi, India.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ NEW DELHI, INDIA - OCTOBER 10: Police officers detain a protester during a demonstration on October 10, 2026 in New Delhi, India. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has called a mass protest to demand the resignation of India's Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, over what they say are alleged irregularities in electoral processes and the revision of voter rolls. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Sat, 10 Oct 2026 18:15:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Delhi Police detained the founder and two senior leaders of a Gen Z protest movement aboard their plane Saturday, Oct. 10, as authorities shut dozens of metro stations, canceled more than 250 trains and deployed tens of thousands of officers to keep protesters away from the capital’s designated protest ground.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Delhi Police detained the founder and two senior leaders of a Gen Z protest movement aboard their plane Saturday, Oct. 10, as authorities shut dozens of metro stations, canceled more than 250 trains and deployed tens of thousands of officers to keep protesters away from the capital’s designated protest ground.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a nationwide revision of India’s voter rolls. Reports put the number of names removed or flagged at about 130 million. In India, the world’s largest democracy, a name missing from the roll means no ballot.
Opposition parties allege that eligible voters are dropping off the rolls, particularly religious minorities and women. The commission and the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have denied any wrongdoing or political bias.
Police broke up flash protests across Delhi and held hundreds of the movement’s supporters in a stadium. Reported counts of those detained rose from about 1,000 to more than 7,000 during the day. Opposition leaders, including four former chief ministers, were among those held.
The Supreme Court had warned Friday that the transport restrictions appeared to be “overreaching.” The CJP says it will try again Sunday at 10 a.m.
Church leaders are watching. The Rev. Vijayesh Lal, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, wrote on his personal blog that the day was “unprecedented and shameful.”
Reporting is current as of 2:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, India time. Figures come from different sources and are attributed accordingly.
What the fight is about
The Election Commission is the constitutional body that runs India’s elections and keeps the voter rolls. Its Special Intensive Revision began in the state of Bihar in June 2025 and now covers much of the country.
The 130 million figure, or 13 crore (one crore equals 10 million), covers names removed or flagged. The commission says most are draft-stage markings of dead, duplicate or relocated voters, not final deletions.
The Indian Express, a national newspaper, reported on Sept. 23 that the two other election commissioners had formally objected at least 14 times in 10 months to decisions made during the revision. On Oct. 5, the Supreme Court declined to suspend Kumar but ordered the commission to respond within a week.
The movement began as online satire, as CDI reported in June. “Janta” means “people” in Hindi, and the name mocks the BJP. It also echoes a May remark by Chief Justice Surya Kant about youth “like cockroaches,” which he later said targeted people with fake degrees.
The movement first took on leaks of NEET, India’s national medical school entrance exam. After hunger strikes and a police crackdown in July, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on July 25. On Sept. 25, the movement turned to the Election Commission.
A capital under lock
Delhi Police, which reports to the national government’s Home Ministry and not to Delhi’s elected government, refused permission for the rally at Jantar Mantar, an 18th-century observatory near Parliament that serves as the capital’s designated protest site.
Joint Commissioner of Police Nupur Prasad said the CJP applied on Oct. 7, though guidelines require 10 days’ notice. “This time the permission is rejected; it is not approved,” she said.
The CJP disputes that it needed permission. Spokesperson Saurav Das said the party notified Parliament Street police station instead: “Who is Delhi Police to give us permission?”
Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, India’s new criminal procedure code, was in force. The section lets authorities ban assemblies. Special Commissioner of Police Devesh Srivastava told the media that “no permission for such protest is granted” and that police had appealed to citizens to stay away.
Reports said 35,000 police and paramilitary personnel were on duty, and authorities suspended mobile internet near the central government district.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation announced the closure of 57 stations from 9 p.m. Friday. After the Supreme Court intervened, it said Saturday evening that 45 stations would stay shut until 10 p.m., a closure of 25 hours. Indian Railways canceled more than 250 long-distance trains.
Protesters detained on the way to Delhi
Authorities also tried to stop protesters before they reached Delhi. In one widely reported case, railway police removed 14 students from the Goa Express at Itarsi station in Madhya Pradesh state on the night of Oct. 8. Student leader Shravani Bua said the police “manhandled, dragged and forced the students out of the train.”
Delhi Police also detained CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and party leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das aboard their Mumbai-to-Delhi flight after it landed.
Dipke had expected it. In a video recorded Friday night but posted later, he said: “If you are watching this video, it means Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das, and I have been taken into custody. The movement does not end here.”
Ajinkya Shinde, named to lead the protest in their absence, spoke at a joint news conference of the CJP and allied student groups. “We will march to Jantar Mantar again tomorrow and stay there until all our demands are met,” he said.
A CJP member, Gaurav Bharti, has asked the Supreme Court to order authorities to produce Dipke, Das and Ranka and to disclose where they are held. His habeas corpus petition — a request that a court make the state justify a person’s detention — argues that refusing permission for a protest cannot justify indiscriminate detention. It also asks the court to preserve airport CCTV footage.
Flash protests across the city
As police kept nearly every protester out of Jantar Mantar all day, small groups demonstrated wherever they could. By evening, officers had taken in about 200 people at Dilli Haat, a crafts market.
At Sansad Marg, near Parliament, members of the Students’ Federation of India broke through a barricade. Police charged with batons and held about 30. Hundreds more were held at Chhatrasal Stadium, one of 15 designated detention sites.
Some protesters had spent the night at Bangla Sahib Gurdwara, a Sikh house of worship, and returned there after barricades blocked Jantar Mantar. Media reported that at about 1 p.m., police came “from behind the gurudwara walls” and detained people at the entrance. The CJP alleged that officers entered the premises. Videos shared on social media show police inside the compound; CDI could not independently verify them.
Opposition leaders were also among those held. Officers detained former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal outside his home. A chief minister is the elected head of a state government, similar to a U.S. governor. Former Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee, Manik Sarkar and Pinarayi Vijayan were also detained.
In Mumbai, police held about 600 people at August Kranti Maidan (Ground), among them Tushar Gandhi, a great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.
Who was taken, and how many
No reliable national count exists. Figures in media reports rose through the day. Police sources put the number at about 1,000 by afternoon. Officials then said more than 3,000 by evening and more than 7,000 by 8 p.m. The CJP claims that more than 15,000 people nationwide faced detention or police action. None of these figures has been independently verified.
Shortly after midnight, most detainees had been released, except the CJP’s top leaders and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee.
On Saturday, the United Nations human rights office said it was “concerned by reports of mass detentions in India of demonstrators, protest leaders, members of civil society organisations, lawyers and journalists.” It added: “All those arbitrarily detained must be immediately and unconditionally released.”
Economist Jean Dreze, who was also detained, told The Indian Express that officers held 30 to 35 working-class and minority people who had no connection to the protest and took their phones.
Mayur Malkhede, a CJP activist from Ballarpur in Maharashtra state who had received a preventive police notice before the protest, was in Connaught Place, the central shopping district. “Almost all our CJP members were detained,” he told CDI. He said some were released at about 9 or 10 p.m. after being taken to a stadium.
Near RML Hospital, he said, police chased protesters, including women and children, and some ran inside the hospital to escape. He also said officers forcibly took away journalists and content creators.
In a message to CDI after midnight, Malkhede said police were following CJP members who had been released. Officers were also singling out CJP volunteers and other young people who had come to Delhi from other parts of the country, questioning them in their hotels, he said. Lawyers made a similar claim in the Supreme Court on Friday.
The court’s warning
On Friday, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant heard petitions from M.A. Baby, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and others. The order said: “It appears that the notifications are overreaching, as they impose a complete ban upon essential public transportation.” The court clarified that “there shall be no outright prohibition on the movement of Metro trains.”
The chief justice said “a large group of ordinary people” were commuting and “have an equal right to movement as there is right to protest.” Precautions are fine, he said, but “that does not mean you should use a hammer to kill a fly.” Justice Joymalya Bagchi cautioned that a protest held without permission is open to prosecution.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal asked: “What is happening in my country? Can we not protest peacefully anymore?” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, the government’s second-highest law officer, answered: “It is our country.” He rejected the claim that the city was paralyzed.
The bench said it would not rule on the police refusal because no organizer was in court. It did not examine lawyers’ claims that police were going “mosque to mosque” to intimidate people and that hotels had been told not to register new guests. The court also asked the government to find a better-equipped protest site. Mehta agreed to consider it.
Sunday and beyond
The CJP has called supporters to Jantar Mantar at 10 a.m. Sunday. “Wherever the Delhi Police stops you, make that place your Jantar Mantar,” Shinde said. Delhi Police said the deployment would stay the same and that more metro and train measures could follow.
The Supreme Court will hold special hearings at 10:30 a.m. on a contempt petition against Home Secretary Govind Mohan, the Delhi Police commissioner and the Delhi Metro chairperson. It will also hear a plea by Trinamool Congress member of Parliament and senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy against the preventive custody of opposition politicians, including four former chief ministers. Petitioners have also asked that a habeas corpus petition seeking the CJP leaders’ release be heard at the same time.
Churches weigh in
Lal, speaking as general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, linked the protests to a wider question of trust. “The issues are different, but the underlying question is the same: whether citizens can trust the institutions that shape their lives and their democracy,” he told CDI. “For minorities especially, the integrity of the electoral roll and confidence in the Election Commission matter because equal citizenship begins with an equal and protected right to vote.”
“When Christians face violence or discrimination, their security depends greatly on whether they believe constitutional institutions, the police, administration and courts will act impartially and according to law,” he said. He urged Christians to “check their names on the electoral rolls, correct errors where necessary and participate responsibly in the democratic process.”
On the ground, Christians describe a city closed in. A young Christian man who asked not to be named told CDI he tried to reach Jantar Mantar on Saturday but turned back because no route was open. He sounded angry as he described it.
A Christian leader who lives in central Delhi and asked not to be named described a tense day and an unusual quiet. Police blocked the streets around her home, so no one could come or go, she said. Officers were also watching her church and home, which kept her family from joining the protest, she said.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India said on Oct. 7: “Disenfranchisement must never become the ‘new normal.’” It urged a free, fair and transparent revision and expressed solidarity with those “peacefully protesting,” while asking them to refrain strictly from violence.
Another Christian leader sees the community as too quiet. A.C. Michael, national coordinator of the United Christian Forum, a Christian activist group, told CDI that Christians are staying away from the public demand that the government answer allegations of “voter roll manipulation.”
Lal’s “unprecedented and shameful” remark comes from a Substack post, “Perhaps We Will Remember This Time,” which he published in his personal capacity, not for the fellowship. “I do not remember Delhi being so fortified, movement so compromised, just so citizens could be denied their right to peacefully protest,” he wrote.
Lal wrote that “non-state actors” as well as police committed excesses against peaceful protesters. If reports prove true that police entered Bangla Sahib Gurdwara, he wrote, it showed no regard “for the sanctity of the place.” Violence by any protesters, he added, “too would be shameful.”
Indians have set aside Kandhamal, the 2008 anti-Christian violence in the state of Odisha, and Manipur, where ethnic conflict has displaced tens of thousands since 2023, he wrote. They may forget this day too. “We specialise in forgetting,” he wrote, yet added: “Perhaps the hope is that some of us will refuse to forget.”]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Costa Rican Evangelical Alliance asks opposition lawmaker to identify pastor who allegedly offered votes for money]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/costa-rican-evangelical-body-asks-opposition-lawmaker-to-identify-pastor-who-offered-votes-for-money</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/costa-rican-evangelical-body-asks-opposition-lawmaker-to-identify-pastor-who-offered-votes-for-money</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Lizzie Sotola]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiandaily.com/media/original/img/0/52/5293.png">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Opposition lawmaker Abril Gordienko.]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica ]]>
                                </media:credit>
                                                                                        <media:description type="plain">
                                    <![CDATA[ Opposition lawmaker Abril Gordienko. ]]>
                                </media:description>
                                                    </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 08:38:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[The Costa Rican Evangelical Alliance Federation (Federación Alianza Evangélica Costarricense, FAEC) has asked opposition lawmaker Abril Gordienko to identify the Christian pastor who, she said publicly, offered her 42,000 votes in exchange for 420 million colones (about $940,000) during the most recent election campaign.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
The Costa Rican Evangelical Alliance Federation (Federación Alianza Evangélica Costarricense, FAEC) has asked opposition lawmaker Abril Gordienko to identify the Christian pastor who, she said publicly, offered her 42,000 votes in exchange for 420 million colones (about $940,000) during the most recent election campaign.
Gordienko made the claim Sept. 16 on the floor of the Legislative Assembly during an exchange with ruling-party lawmaker Gonzalo Ramírez of the evangelical bloc. According to CR Hoy, Ramírez criticized the traditional political parties, including Gordienko's, for keeping up "old-style politics." Gordienko responded by recounting the alleged offer she had received from a pastor.
"You know, Don Gonzalo, for me it was the other way around. A Christian pastor actually offered me 42,000 votes for ₡420 million. The things that happen, right?" she said.
Ruling-party lawmaker Kattia Mora, who is also linked to the evangelical sector, then urged Gordienko to file a criminal complaint. Gordienko replied that her comment was not aimed at persecuting pastors and said she would go to the appropriate authorities.
FAEC asks that the accusation be made specific
In a statement issued Sept. 17, FAEC said an accusation this serious cannot remain a general reference to "a pastor."
"The general reference to 'a pastor' opens the door to generalizations and unjustly places under suspicion thousands of pastors who serve with integrity in Costa Rica," the federation said.
The organization asked Gordienko to name the person and to submit the evidence supporting her accusation to the competent authorities. It said that if the facts are proven and meet the elements established by law, the case could constitute the offense against the free self-determination of the voter.
FAEC said it does not seek to cover up any wrongdoing.
"If a person acted outside the law, he must answer individually for his actions," the organization stated. But it rejected the idea that a single case should become an accusation against all pastors in Costa Rica.
'No pastor owns those votes'
The statement also defended the personal nature of evangelical believers' votes. The federation said evangelicals make up about 30% of the Costa Rican electorate and that no religious leader controls those votes.
"No pastor owns those votes. Every Christian decides in conscience and exercises individually his right to vote," FAEC said.
The organization said it will send a formal letter to Gordienko asking her to identify the person she mentioned and to take the matter to the authorities if she has evidence to support the complaint.
FAEC said transparency requires both investigating any possible crime and preventing vague accusations from damaging the reputations of those who serve in pastoral ministry with integrity.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Peru's president unveils school reform to remove content her government considers ideological]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/peru-s-president-unveils-school-reform-to-remove-ideological-content</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/peru-s-president-unveils-school-reform-to-remove-ideological-content</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Lizzie Sotola]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiandaily.com/media/original/img/0/52/5291.png">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Keiko Fujimori (middle) during an event at the Ministry of Education. Her government announced a reform of the school curriculum to remove content it considers ideological.]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ Presidency of Peru ]]>
                                </media:credit>
                                                                                        <media:description type="plain">
                                    <![CDATA[ Keiko Fujimori (middle) during an event at the Ministry of Education. Her government announced a reform of the school curriculum to remove content it considers ideological. ]]>
                                </media:description>
                                                    </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 04:28:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori unveiled an education reform Sept. 14 that would update the national school curriculum and remove content her government considers ideological.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori unveiled an education reform Sept. 14 that would update the national school curriculum and remove content her government considers ideological.
The review is not limited to so-called "gender ideology." Education Minister José Antonio Chang said it will also cover how schools teach the period of violence Peru experienced from 1980 to 2000. The reform follows a 2025 law that already ordered changes to sex education in schools.
Fujimori and Chang announced the plan during the presentation of the National Education Plan 2026-2031 at the José María Arguedas school in Santa Anita, a district of Lima.
Fujimori said teaching should prioritize data and verifiable information, the official gazette El Peruano reported.
Chang said: "We are going to remove every kind of ideology from the national curriculum."
The plan also aims to strengthen reading, writing, mathematics, science, civic education, English and financial education. The executive branch announced a daily reading hour and a guide to help families support their children's learning.
What content is under review
Official statements point to a broad review of the curriculum. Some outlets have reported the announcement as a specific order to eliminate "gender ideology," but the government's wording also covers the teaching of the country's recent history.
In an interview with Caretas, Chang said his ministry will review content and materials on the 1980-2000 period of violence.
He said the changes must be based on teaching criteria and scientific evidence. He also said he rejects what he considers manipulation or indoctrination in how terrorism is taught.
The government has not yet announced a timeline for the changes.
The 2025 law on gender and sex education
Law 32535, published Dec. 24, 2025, set a new framework for equal opportunities between women and men.
The law provided for replacing the National Gender Equality Policy. It also established that references to the gender approach are to be understood as references to the approach of equal opportunities between women and men.
In education, the law directed the Ministry of Education to issue sex education guidelines on a scientific, biological and ethical basis and to include them in the curriculum update. It removed references to comprehensive sexuality education. It also recognized the role of parents or guardians in their children's education.
The law is separate from this week's reform announcement. Further steps are still needed to bring the changes into classrooms.
Questions over the reform's scope
The proposal has raised questions about how the government will decide what counts as ideological content.
In an editorial, the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru expressed concern about the reform's possible effects on the teaching of the internal armed conflict, the gender approach and comprehensive sexuality education.
The executive branch has not yet defined which content will be removed or the criteria it will use to apply the changes.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Rights record in Pakistan jeopardizes trade status, EU official says]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/rights-record-in-pakistan-jeopardizes-trade-status-eu-official-says</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/rights-record-in-pakistan-jeopardizes-trade-status-eu-official-says</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Christian Daily International / Morning Star News]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiandaily.com/media/original/img/0/52/5233.png">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[EU Ambassador to Pakistan Raimundas Karoblis.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Screenshot from Voicepk.net podcast ]]>
                                </media:credit>
                                                                                        <media:description type="plain">
                                    <![CDATA[ EU Ambassador to Pakistan Raimundas Karoblis. ]]>
                                </media:description>
                                                    </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 16:15:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Pakistan’s continued access to a lucrative European Union trade preference could be jeopardized if Islamabad fails to demonstrate meaningful progress in protecting human rights, including the rights of religious minorities, the EU ambassador to Pakistan warned.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Pakistan’s continued access to a lucrative European Union trade preference could be jeopardized if Islamabad fails to demonstrate meaningful progress in protecting human rights, including the rights of religious minorities, the EU ambassador to Pakistan warned.
Raimundas Karoblis said on Monday (Aug. 31) that Pakistan’s continuation in the EU’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) beyond 2029 was uncertain with the implementation of United Nations human rights conventions likely to be a decisive factor in the country’s reapplication.
“It is not certain and it is not guaranteed,” Karoblis stressed in a podcast with journalist Munizae Jahangir available on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGkeG0z3IbE)
“It depends on the level of implementation of the U.N. conventions,” he said. “One of the preconditions within the present GSP+ scheme and the future scheme is the absence of a serious failure in implementing the U.N. conventions. This is based, first of all, on the conclusions of the U.N. monitoring bodies.”
The comments come as religious freedom advocates continue to raise concerns about Pakistan’s treatment of Christians and other religious minorities, particularly in cases involving blasphemy allegations, forced conversions, child marriage, attacks on places of worship and discrimination in law and practice.
Under the current GSP+ arrangement, Pakistan receives extensive tariff preferences for exports to the EU, with the benefits estimated at around 732 million euros. The textile sector is among the major beneficiaries. The scheme links preferential trade access to implementation of international conventions on human rights, labor rights, environmental protection, climate change and good governance.
For Pakistan, which has ratified the 27 conventions required under the current GSP+ framework, the key issue in the coming years will therefore be implementation rather than ratification.
“All of the conventions have been ratified by Pakistan,” Karoblis said. “From a legal point of view, the first condition is therefore fulfilled. But now, particularly with the new scheme, the emphasis will be exactly on implementation. I mentioned already that the government will need to present an action plan with concrete measures for implementing or improving the implementation of the U.N. conventions. It will also need concrete timeframes and concrete performance indicators. So, indeed, implementation is really important.”
Under the proposed future system, the number of conventions will rise from 27 to 32. Karoblis said Pakistan had already ratified all of them. He stressed that the EU would consider not only future commitments but Pakistan’s existing record. The ambassador also specified, however, that if Pakistan does not reapply for GSP+, or fails to meet the conditions for the scheme, it would revert to ordinary GSP rather than lose all preferential trade treatment.
Under ordinary GSP, tariffs would remain approximately 30 percent lower than conventional tariffs applied to countries such as China and the United States, although they would be higher than under GSP+.
Religious Minorities among EU ‘Red Zones’
Karoblis identified minority rights as one of the principal areas where Pakistan had experienced regression despite progress in some other areas since the introduction of GSP+ in 2014.
“For example, there has been a reduction in the scope of the death penalty, a de facto moratorium on executions, implementation of legislation on torture, child marriage laws, and the strengthening of institutions responsible for human rights, such as the National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR) and the role of the Ministry of Law and Justice, among others,” he said. “But together with that, there has also been regression in some elements of human rights. The main areas of concern are enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, freedom of expression, the rights of journalists, and minority rights.”
The ambassador said the EU’s assessment drew on its July 2026 GSP+ report, findings by U.N. monitoring bodies and discussions with other stakeholders. He said these sources had raised “serious doubts” about Pakistan’s effective implementation of some of the conventions.
“In order to achieve a positive result with the reapplication, progress is therefore needed in precisely these areas,” he said.
Karoblis emphasized that the EU was not demanding that Pakistan adopt European standards.
“We are not talking about European-level standards or commitments. Nobody and nothing is perfect. But, of course, we expect a certain level of implementation,” he said.
Blasphemy Cases Concern
Karoblis said the EU had welcomed efforts by Pakistan’s government to reduce the number of blasphemy cases from the peak reached several years ago.
He also pointed to court decisions in Islamabad and Sindh Province that resulted in more than 100 people being released on bail. The situation in Punjab Provinice, however, remained a major concern, he said, with around 500 people, including young people, still affected by blasphemy-related cases.
Blasphemy accusations have frequently targeted Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan. Rights advocates have repeatedly warned that accusations can arise from personal disputes and can place entire minority communities at risk of mob violence, forced displacement and attacks on churches and homes.
Karoblis also raised concerns over groups he described as “blasphemy gangs.”
“But what we hear is that they are still active. Certain credible guarantees are necessary so that this kind of provocation should not work anymore.”
Karoblis singled out the treatment of the minority Ahmadi community as another serious issue.
“The situation of the Ahmadi community is a major concern. Ahmadis are also citizens of Pakistan, and their rights should also be respected,” he said, urging protection of their physical security, places of worship and other rights.
The EU is also discussing issues concerning registration of marriages and documentation with Pakistan’s government, he said, although “there is not yet anything concrete.”
The ambassador said the matter should be addressed positively “sooner rather than later” and no later than Pakistan’s GSP+ reapplication period.
Although Christians and Ahmadis face different legal and social circumstances in Pakistan, religious freedom advocates have long pointed to the broader problem of laws and practices that leave religious minorities vulnerable to discrimination, violence and abuse.
Child Marriage and Forced Conversion
The EU envoy also cited child marriage legislation among the areas in which Pakistan had made progress.
“For example, there has been a reduction in the scope of the death penalty, a de facto moratorium on executions, implementation of legislation on torture, child marriage laws, and the strengthening of institutions responsible for human rights, such as the National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR) and the role of the Ministry of Law and Justice, among others,” he said.
The implementation of child marriage laws has particular significance for Pakistan’s religious minorities because rights advocates have repeatedly documented cases in which minority girls are allegedly abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and married to older Muslim men. Advocates have argued that existing legal and institutional weaknesses can make it difficult for families to secure the recovery of minor girls and obtain effective legal remedies.
Karoblis said the EU expected Pakistan to demonstrate concrete implementation of its international commitments rather than simply maintain them on paper.
Freedom of expression and journalists’ rights were also among the ambassador’s areas of concern.
Karoblis cited the “letter” and implementation of amendments to Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), Punjab’s defamation laws and aspects of counterterrorism legislation.
“These are issues which really should be addressed in order to change the situation, make progress and tackle the challenges journalists face today,” he said.
Forced Disappearances
Karoblis said the EU had consistently raised concerns about forced disappearances and arbitrary detention with Pakistan. He acknowledged, however, the government’s argument that Pakistan faces a serious security threat.
“The first response is that we are in a specific security situation, which is true,” he said. “Pakistan ranks number one on the Global Terrorism Index. But our view is that even in this situation, human rights conventions and guarantees should be applied. We are not saying that the government should not fight against terrorism. But basic rights, such as the right of defense and the right of access to families, should be protected.”
He said perpetrators should be held accountable and called for enhanced monitoring of cases involving alleged enforced disappearances.
“There should also be enhanced monitoring of cases involving enforced disappearances, for example. These are elements which, in our view, are manageable and should be implemented,” he said. “So far, speaking with different stakeholders, the answers are slightly different in tone. But the question is really up to the government to decide whether, because of its position on security, it wants to move on this issue and in which direction.
“We very much expect, and we explain to all stakeholders, that this is one of the essential areas where we really need progress.”
The EU envoy also raised concerns about judicial proceedings, including military trials of civilians and the treatment of political opponents in detention. Karoblis said the EU was raising political pluralism, the rule of law and human rights in its dialogue with Pakistan.
“Political pluralism is one of the issues which we are raising in our human rights dialogues, in the specific subgroup on democracy, rule of law and human rights,” he said. “In these cases, the same as with the majority of other cases involving people who are in prison, we are looking primarily at issues such as conditions of imprisonment, conditions relating to torture, for example. We are also looking at issues concerning the right of defense and similar matters.”
He stressed that the EU was not attempting to determine the guilt or innocence of individuals in particular cases.
“Only the court should make the decision as to whether this person is guilty or not guilty, and I hope that in this case also the court will make a proper and justified verdict, one way or another,” he said.
On the trial of civilians in military courts, Karoblis said Pakistan’s security concerns were recognized but questioned whether such measures were proportionate. He linked the issue to Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICCPR), which provides fair trial guarantees.
“It is really up to experts to look at this in more detail,” he said.
Karoblis rejected the suggestion that Pakistan’s growing diplomatic role, including its efforts to mediate between the United States and Iran and its engagement on Gaza, could provide Islamabad with political leverage in the GSP+ process.
“We very much appreciate the leadership of Pakistan in this mediation,” he said, but stressed that the GSP+ process was based on objective criteria and assessments by experts and U.N. monitoring bodies.
“Political influence to affect the process positively or to provide a push is very limited,” he said.
The message from Brussels, therefore, is that Pakistan’s diplomatic importance will not substitute for progress on human rights, he added.
Afghan Refugees 
The ambassador called for protection of Afghan refugees who would face danger if returned to Afghanistan.
“Afghan refugees have lived in Pakistan for 40 years and have been quite integrated into society,” he said. “I don’t see that they have created an additional burden for Pakistan. On the contrary, they have contributed significantly to GDP.”
Those who are eligible for international protection, for whom it is dangerous to return to Afghanistan, and vulnerable groups, should be protected, he said.
“Our expectation is that special care should be given to these categories of people. Deportation should not take place in such cases,” he said. “For other Afghans, their movement should, of course, be organized, carried out with dignity, and with guarantees concerning their property and other rights.”
Karoblis said that although Pakistan had not ratified all refugee-related conventions, the principle of non-refoulement remained binding. The ambassador ultimately framed the EU’s human rights concerns as extending beyond the GSP+ mechanism itself.
Asked why the EU was concerned about Pakistan’s treatment of its most vulnerable citizens, he said, “We are not talking about European-level standards, but about the United Nations conventions on human rights.”
“The economy and society cannot be prosperous if people are not free, and human rights are actually one of the essential elements,” he said. “It has also been proven by practice in all EU countries and in Europe in general. Of course, we are one of the promoters of human rights, but Pakistan is also a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The question, of course, is about implementation, and about vulnerable people. Once again, I repeat that society cannot be prosperous if a person is not free and if he or she does not enjoy the basic rights that constitute human rights.”]]></content:encoded>
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