Drastic measures: ‘Minorities should resign from their parties, rethink priorities’

Former labour councillor urged the minorities' representatives to establish their identity and power

KARACHI: Philips Samuel, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement's (MQM) former Jamshed Town labour councillor, suggested minorities' representatives to resign from their respective parties first if they were serious about fighting for their rights.

"I will [then] believe we are actually in it for real," he said, addressing a minorities' consultative session held at Darul Khushnud on Saturday afternoon. "We have to boycott the elections and establish our identity and power." The consultative session was organised by the Minorities Development Initiative (MDI) and was attended by candidates of minorities in the local bodies elections.



"We talk about separate elections but never act on it because our stomachs are attached to our parties," said Samuel. "Our place is below their feet and it will stay the same until we prove ourselves." He claimed that members of the Hindu community have done much better for themselves than the Christian community. "There is no point in making a case for minorities," said Dr Sabir Michael. "Being a minority is a case in itself."

"Whether or not we stay councillors, we can still be able to solve problems through coordination", said Mukhi Odha Mal, a former Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) minority wing councillor. "From the officers to the lower staff, everyone treats us like subordinates," he said. "They always mock us saying that you belong to the five per cent of the population."

Anthony Naveed, MDI coordinator, said it is important to study the system before getting into it, especially while preparing for the local bodies election. An audience member supported his notion and suggested that information regarding the upcoming elections should be disseminated among all the citizens on comprehensible terms so that they can understand the procedure.

"The reason why we are meeting here today is so that regardless of our party affiliation we work for our communities together," said Liaquat Munawar Masih, MDI founder. He highlighted that there is not a single Christian minister in the PPP cabinet.

The session consisted of a group activity where the experienced former councillors and minority representatives were handed a questionnaire and they all shared their experiences. "The minority councillor is not even given his own office or his own staff," pointed out ex-councillor Iqbal Lal. "He is expected to do everything without these facilities."



The session included social activists and former councillors, who were encouraged to train the new candidates to become well-versed with the system.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2015.