Unfulfilled promises: The 90 days that never end

Four years on, minorities remind PM of his promise to resolve their issues within 3 months.

ISLAMABAD:

Nobody expected the Prime Minister to make good on his promise of giving every minority household in Islamabad an 80-square-yard plot. What they were not ready for was the non-fulfilment of even a single promise made to them.

There are 30,000 minorities living in Islamabad, according to World Minority Alliance (WMA) Convener and former federal minister for minorities Julius Salik. Most of them are Christians who live in 12 katchi abadis. But the government has granted ownership rights in just one of them.

On Saturday, Salik criticised the government for what he called “sheer failure” to honour commitments.  He called upon Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to tender an apology to minorities for what Salik described as “his inability to honour the commitment to resolve their issues within 90 days of taking office”.

Not a single one of their issues has been addressed, even though four years have passed, he added.

He was speaking at a convention organised by WMA at the National Press Club.

A large number of minority members from the twin cities attended the event and chanted slogans in favour of their rights as well as pro-Pakistan slogans.

A huge banner hanging on the front wall of the hall was inscribed with the words “We want roses not thrones! Solve our problems”.

Another banner was inscribed with the words of Muhammad Ali Jinnah: “A government cannot succeed without taking minorities into confidence.”

During her first government, former PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto had proposed ownership rights for the residents of six slum localities, but that also went unfulfilled, he added.

A minority member, master Anwar, said that the new generation of minorities, particularly those who live in kachi abadis, is heading towards devastation due to the discriminatory treatment met out by the government.

“Our youth are being drawn towards antisocial habits due to growing unemployment and illiteracy, which is the outcome of the lack of attention from the government,” he said, adding, “We have no homes to live in and our families are uncertain about their futures.”

Javed Masih, who lives in a katchi abadi, added, “On one hand, the government is determined to displace us from our homes, but on the other, they have no place else to resettle us.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2012.