Equal standing: Activists resolve to end discrimination against minorities

Current attitude towards minorities has been marked by acts of bigotry, claim minority leaders.

KARACHI: Religious minorities are constantly being treated with discrimination by the general population and the government.

These views were expressed by political and social workers, as well as members of religious minority groups of Sindh, attending a one-day conference titled “Mainstreaming of Religious Minority in Pakistan”. The conference, organised by the Forum for Human Rights Pakistan (FHRP), in collaboration with Centre for Peace and Development (CPD), was held at Regent Plaza on Friday.

Passing a long list of resolutions, the participants demanded that the total number of assembly seats for religious minorities must be increased in accordance with the increasing population. They pointed out that “though the religious minorities have been given the right to double vote, they were essentially being compelled to vote for Muslim candidates as their representatives were being selected by political parties without their consent.”

The members demanded that the education syllabus must be changed as it contained discriminatory topics on minorities. They called upon the media to play its role in highlighting the problems being faced by the minorities in Pakistan and asked that the government ensure the implementation of the five-per cent quota for religious minorities in public sector jobs.

Pakistan Peoples Party Sindh general secretary and former senator Taj Haider, former minority MPA Pitanbar Sewani, Human Rights Commission Pakistan member Indar Ahuja, Action Aid programme manager for Sindh and Balochistan Shah Jahan Baloch and Urban Resource Centre’s Zahid Farooq and Hotchand Karmani also spoke.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30^th, 2013.