National Minority Day: 'Our doors are open for anyone'

PTI extends support to minorities, calls for freedom of religious practice

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) congratulates the minority community on the occasion of National Minority Day and supports all the rights of minorities in the country, said the party's Sindh chapter president MNA Dr Arif Alvi.

He was addressing on Friday a press conference at Insaf House along with leaders of the party who belonged to the minority community, including Deewan Sachal, Narendar Kumar and Chaila Ram.



PTI does not represent a single community, ethnicity or sectarian group, but is the party of every person living in the country, Dr Alvi said.

Criticising the parties that focus on the politics of ethnicity, sectarianism, and religious fanaticism, Alvi said that such an attitude has brought great loss to the country as such politics further divide the nation, instead of uniting it.

"The vision of PTI has never included supporting such politics. Our doors are open for anyone who wants to join our cause," Dr Alvi said.

"On this day, I would like to assure every member of the minority community that PTI will be the first to safeguard the rights of minorities and will demand the same from the government," he said.



Referring to Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah's September 11, 1947 speech where Jinnah had said every citizen has equal rights and freedom to practice their religion, Dr Alvi said this should be our way forward while dealing with the minority community.

Dr Alvi also highlighted the contribution of minorities towards the prosperity of the country and said that no comparison can be made with other groups when it comes to the services of the minority community for Pakistan.



He urged the nation to pledge to make Pakistan the country envisioned by Jinnah and Allama Iqbal where there is freedom to practice religion and equal opportunities for all citizens to avail facilities of health, education and employment.