Speakers at a seminar on "Religious Freedom and Minority Rights" stressed the need for making vigorous efforts for protection and attainment all basic rights to non-Muslims communities, guaranteed under the Constitution. The seminar was organised by the South Asian Partnership Pakistan (SAPPk) to make deliberations with parliamentarians on rights of non-Muslims and their other issues held at a local hotel on Monday.
Harun Sarb Diyal, Chairman of All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement (APHRM), Redesh Singh Tony, Chairman of Sikh Community of Pakistan, Augston Jacob of Christian community, Haji Jalil Jan, secretary information of JUI-F, and PTI and PPP provincial legislators and others spoke in the seminar. Harun Diyal said that the Constitution of Pakistan had defined rights of the non-Muslim communities but lamented that no implementation was being made and that was the reason they were facing different kind of ordeals.
He said that their property, including lands and temples etc, had been grabbed either by influential people or the government in the name of archaeology and commercial purposes, which was an injustice with the community because a large number of Hindus living in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Criticising the policy-making institutions, he said they were not consulted when policy regarding minorities was devised and similarly, the communities deprived of their basic human rights. Regarding the quota system in jobs and selection of MPA and MNA from minorities, Harun appreciated the PTI-led provincial KP government for increasing the job quota to 3 percent and demanded to raise it to 5 percent. He said the system of elections instead of selection be made for non-Muslims so that the elected representatives could raise voice of the communities in a befitting manner.
Radesh Tony shared his views about the issues of the Sikh community and said the people of his community were being targeted for last some months and several of them migrated while the Sikhs' representative in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly Sardar Suran Singh was playing the role of silent spectator over the ordeals of the community. "The PTI-led provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should take steps to resolve problems of Sikhs," he demanded.
Endorsing the demands of the non-Muslims, Augston Jacob said that they were also Pakistanis and had the right to live, worship, freedom of expression in a free atmosphere enshrined under the Constitution. MPA Sardar Hussain said that Islam teaches peace, harmony and brotherhood and there was no force marriage and conversions into another religion. He maintained that the legislators of the minority communities did not raise voice for the rights of their communities on the assembly floor. Condemning target killings, PTI MPA Shaukat Yousafzai said terrorism in any form was condemnable. He added that the Muslims had also been facing worst situation of its kind for 68 years.