Minorities’ protection: Effective district-level system demanded
KARACHI: An effective district-level system should be established to ensure the protection of minorities. This demand was made by former federal minister Kamran Michael and Shafique Chaudhry, Executive Director of the Parliamentarians Commission for Human Rights (PCHR) and former adviser to the Federal Ministry of Human Rights.
They made the demand while addressing the concluding session of a three-day training workshop on “Human Rights Advocacy,” organized by PCHR for members of the Rights and Justice Network Sindh.
Former federal minister Kamran Michael said the five percent employment quota reserved for minorities should be implemented through transparent recruitment and annual public reporting.
He said the law setting the minimum age for marriage at 18 should be strictly enforced, while legislation against forced religious conversion should be reintroduced and strengthened. He said such legislation should include safeguards for children, women and victims, freedom of religion and due process of law.
Kamran Michael said cultural rights were not limited to freedom of worship, but also included the right of minority communities to preserve, promote and pass on their culture, heritage, languages and religious identity to future generations.
He called for the protection and restoration of temples, churches, gurdwaras, cemeteries, religious seminaries and historical sites with meaningful participation of minority communities, so that not only the sites but also the living traditions associated with them could be preserved.
PCHR Executive Director and former adviser to the Federal Ministry of Human Rights Shafique Chaudhry said most violations of minority rights occurred at the local level due to the inability of law-enforcement agencies and the absence of effective protection mechanisms.
He said district-level forums comprising representatives of local bar associations and civil society had been established under the Rights and Justice Network Sindh (RJNM) to address the situation.
Certificates were also distributed among participants at the conclusion of the three day training workshop.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026