January 10, 2003	Friday	Ziqa’ad 6, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 9: All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) on Thursday warned the government of boycotting the elections for the Senate if at least five seats were not allocated for the minorities in the upper house.

“The government should reserve at least five seats for the minorities in the Senate so that they can play an effective role in legislation and contribute to resolution of issues of national importance,” the alliance chairman, Shehbaz Bhatti, said in a letter to President General Pervez Musharraf.

“We are also filing a petition in the Supreme Court to get justice and our legitimate right,” he added.

The APMA chairman asserted that if women, technocrats and those from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) had reserve seats in the Senate, than why the government discriminated against the minorities by eliminating their representation in the upper house.

He said Fata had eight MNAs and eight senators and the minorities should also be given seats in the senate with the same proportion. “We would not accept any legislation without representation of minorities,” he warned.

Mr Bhatti was of the view that the minorities had 23 seats in provincial assemblies and 10 in the National Assembly, therefore, with similar proportion they should also be given representation in the upper house.