Failing our minority

The world celebrated Christmas yesterday, while Pakistan also celebrated its founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s 142nd birth anniversary. The 25th of December marked two significant events for the citizens of the country but not with the same fervour for a part of its minority Christian community in Sindh. Over 9,500 workers of the minority group celebrated their religious festival in agony, while some of them celebrated it along the road off Karachi Press Club, protesting — not celebrating with their families — the delay in their salaries that were supposed to be cleared by the 20th of December by the Sindh government according to the Sindh High Court’s order.

Around 7,000 Christian workers associated with the district municipal corporations and 2,500 employed at the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board had not been paid their dues before their annual Christmas holidays. The SHC had directed the Sindh government on December 19th to pay the workers, but the order fell on deaf ears as it was ignored by the inefficient bureaucrats of the provincial government that did not release the funds on time.

It is unfortunate that a significant part of the country’s minority community, a majority of which are low-grade employees were discriminated against on the Quaid’s birthday who envisioned a Pakistan that coexisted and lived with interfaith harmony. In fact, this is not the first time that the Sindh government has not paid its workers before their religious festivities. Muslims and Hindus were also not paid in time to celebrate Eidul Azha and Diwali, respectively, by the government.

During a time when the community is already mourning the deaths of those killed in the Quetta church attack, the country should make special efforts to cater to their needs. By losing on its minority group, the Sindh government is not going to do itself any favours to earn their votes in the upcoming elections.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 26^th, 2017.

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