'Minorities integral part of Pakistani society'

Provincial Minister for Finance, Minorities Affairs and Human Rights, Kamran Michael here on Wednesday said that though minorities follow different religions but as Pakistanis they are as patriotic as anyone else. Reacting to celebrating August 11 as Minorities Day, Kamran Michael said that it is a grave injustice to fix only one day for millions of members of the society who belong to different religions as it could promote a feeling in them that they are not Pakistanis and it is not their country.
He said that Mother's Day and Father's Day are celebrated in Europe to give an impression to the parents that their children own them for at least one day and is the purpose of celebrating Minorities day the same. The Minister further said that minorities are an integral part of Pakistani society and they have their roots in this land and they also rendered sacrifices for the creation of Pakistan. He said that minorities are not the custodian of only one day but 365 days of the year as they are a part of Pakistani nation. Kamran Michael further said that earlier non-Muslims could not become the president of Pakistan but now in the light of the decision of Constitutional Reforms Committee, a non-Muslim could not become the prime minister of the country as well. He said that it is an injustice that despite being patriotic Pakistanis, members of minority groups are still considered unequal citizens. Kamran Michael further said that the speech of Quaid-e-Azam on August 11, 1947 should be made a part of the constitution of Pakistan to remove the sense of insecurity in minorities and they should be eligible for the office of president and prime minister of Pakistan.