White among the green: A way forward for minorities

Slum residents look towards candidates to solve their basic problems

ISLAMABAD: Preparations for the first ever local government elections in urban areas of the capital are in full swing with the polling date around the corner. Blaring sound systems, colourful flags and lit up cars add to the city’s enthusiasm and festive mood.

Residents of a Christian slum next to the bustling Super Market in Sector F-6 — 100 Quarters — are hopeful that life will get better for them in terms of hygiene, power, gas and clean drinking water since locals from their colony are also contesting the election.



According to official statistics, non-Muslims make up more than five per cent of Pakistan’s population, out of which the majority are Christians. The white in our flag represents the minorities, whatever their faith-adherence and the Constitution treats them as equal citizens. In reality, they have been left at the lowest rungs of society and are deprived of basic human needs.

Ishfaq Faisal, a resident of the colony, told The Express Tribune “There is only one electric meter and the required money for the monthly bill is collected on a contribution basis but since some of the residents cannot afford to contribute, WAPDA disconnects electricity.” We’re hopeful that the successful candidate from our colony will be able to resolve this issue besides many others, he added.

Rasheed Chohan, a Christian candidate from the ruling party contesting election for the seat of UC-25 councillor, said “Most Christian colonies in Islamabad don’t have clean drinking water. Sewerage water is also being mixed in the supply due to which children catch infections and sometimes serious diseases such as Hepatitis A and B.” He is confident that if elected he would be able to fix these problems.

Speaking on the subject, Shahzad Anjum, chairman Christian Youth Uplift Forum, a non-profit that provides career counselling and works on other youth-related issues for Christians in Islamabad, said “The local body election will not have any positive impact on our lives because most of the party representatives, including Christian candidates, are uneducated.” As far as the youth is concerned, education needs to be our top priority but unfortunately most of the candidates don’t even have primary-level education.



“Most women in my community are married to drug addicts while some of them are young widows,” shared Mariam Root, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidate for the seat of ladies councillor. “I want to help them earn a decent living and become financially independent,” she added. She further expressed that there were many families in other Christian colonies in sectors F-7, H-9 and G-8 who were looking after orphaned children because there wasn’t any orphanage in their area. “Besides other plans, I want to open a small orphanage for these children” she said.

The residents of the colony were of the opinion that it was high time that the future of their 30-year-old colony improve because the successful candidate from their colony would be fully cognisant of the countless problems they had been suffering from for decades. Some other residents, however, are not too optimistic, saying they’ve heard similar promises before.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th,  2015.