KARACHI, Jan 17: Various civil society organisations have lauded the government’s decision to abolish the separate electorates and hold the ensuing elections under the joint electorate system.

They said that the step would help integrate the religious minorities into the society and bring them into the political mainstream.

The Amnesty International said that the government had taken a step forward in the right direction.

The AI’s Karachi chief, Syed Shamsuddin, said on Thursday that the decision was in accordance the Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), of which Pakistan was a signatory.

He said that now the minority communities which had been segregated from the political mainstream of the country would feel integrated into the society and the growing feeling of insecurity among them would be effectively checked.

He said that the AI believed that all the Pakistanis had the right to take part in governance without any discrimination, and expressed the hope that this decision would lead to the promotion of harmony and tolerance in the society.

The AI official said that the will of the people should be the basis of the authority of the government, and this will should be expressed in periodic and genuine elections.

The Joint Action Committee in its statement termed the decision a bold step towards making Pakistan a democratic and tolerant society.

JAC, however, regretted the abolishment of reserved seats as, it said, the minorities were a disadvantaged section which needed the backing of the civil society.

JAC welcomed the threefold increase in the number of women seats from 20 to 60, but maintained that it would have been better if women had been given 33 percent representation at all levels of decision-making.

It demanded that 33 per cent seats in the Senate and provincial assemblies be reserved for women. It also urged the government to amend the election rules, compelling the political parties to bring women in the mainstream politics through direct and constituency-based elections.

It also urged the government to repeal all the laws discriminatory towards religious minorities and women, that were introduced by a former dictator and made a part of the legal system and the constitution through the Eighth Amendment.

JAC comprises Aurat Foundation, the HRCP, the Forum for Peace and Development, WAF, WAR, the Pak India People’s Forum and Takhleeq Foundation.

Secretary general of APWA, Ms Yasmin Dastur, who is also a member of the Advisory Council on Minorities, hailed the announcement and said that this was a very welcome move that would help involve the minority communities in the main stream of politics as well as in the process of policy making.

The Idara Amn-o-Insaf, welcoming the joint electorate, said that the system of separate electorates was against the Constitution and the principles and vision of Jinnah.

President Catholic Association, Herbert Fernandes, welcomed the government’s decision in a statement here on Thursday. He congratulated the government on its “bold decision.”