Securing rights: Minority lawmakers forge alliance

PTI MNA brings MPs representing minority communities together

ISLAMABAD: Minority lawmakers have forged an alliance in an effort to devise a joint strategy for securing their rights, as enshrined in the Constitution.

Parliamentarians representing minority communities in the upper and lower houses are planning to push the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government into resolving the burning issues affecting the lives and honour of the minority communities in the Islamic republic.

Among a host of problems identified by PTI MNA Lal Chand Malhi, the most important are forced conversion of Hindus, confiscation of temples and job quota for minorities which, he said, must be addressed by the prime minister.

Malhi is the driving force behind the ‘joint strategy’ idea. The lawmaker said he has already written a letter to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, urging him to address the issues being faced by the minorities. “I have decided to raise the issues of minorities inside and outside parliament along with all my colleagues irrespective of their party affiliation,” Malhi told The Express Tribune.

Ever since the PML-N government swept to power, problems regarding the minorities were being ignored, Malhi said. This apathy on the part of the federal government, compelled Malhi to bring all the minority lawmakers together to fight for their due rights.

He said that Premier Nawaz Sharif needs to deliver on his party’s manifesto, which promises protection of the rights of minorities.

In his letter, the lawmaker also asked the PM to remove Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) chairman, as he believed the post should be given to a non-Muslim. The trust is responsible for the places of worship people migrating to India left behind at the time of partition in 1947.



MQM MNA Sanjay Perwani, while talking to The Express Tribune, said that matters regarding minorities have been ignored since PML-N came to power. “Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif does not bother to meet his party’s lawmakers, then how can he give time to us (minority lawmakers)?” asked the lawmaker affirming his support for Malhi’s initiative.

MNA Asiya Nasir of JUI-F also took the same stance and said that she will take part in the joint strategy of minority lawmakers. Asiya Nasir’s party is a coalition partner of PML-N, but she said that she will take a stand on the cause of minorities -- irrespective of party affiliation.

MNA Bhawan Das of PML-N admitted that the ruling party had to face huge challenges when it came into power which caused delays in addressing the problems of the minorities. The lawmaker from Sanghar district of Sindh said he will take part in formulating the joint strategy being devised to force the government to address the issues of the marginalised segments of the society.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12^th, 2016.