ISLAMABAD, March 9: The National Minority Conference, held at the Christian Study Centre in Rawalpindi on Sunday, approved a charter to chalk out a strategy for the participation of religious minorities in mainstream politics.

The charter has been prepared through consultations and public meetings, in which about 1,400 people, including politicians and members of the civil society, participated from all over the country.

The conference, held on the topic “Minority rights and Future Strategy”, was arranged by the Justice and Peace Commission in collaboration with South Asia Partnership-PK.

Those who spoke on the occasion included Bishop John Mal, Cecil Chaudhry, Anup Singh, Sabir Afaqi, Irfan Mufti, Dr Jennifer Bennet, M. Parkash, Mahboob Sada, Father Albert Youhanna, Sister Norris Nawab.

The conference was attended by Christian, Hindu, Sikh, and Bahai participants.

Sister Norris Nawab of the Justice and Peace Commission, speaking on the occasion, said: “The religious minorities have to participate in strengthening democracy.”

Father Albert, appreciating South Asia Partnership-Pk, said: “It is only through the initiative of SAP-Pk that we are sitting here together to deliberate on the issue closest to our hearts.”

Cecil Chaudhry, a human rights activist, said the discrimination for higher positions in the government had gradually trickled down. “Just because we did not raise our voices when the discriminatory laws were being passed by Gen Ziaul Haq, we are suffering today,” he said.

“The turning point in our history came when Bishop John Joseph gave his life to protest against the blasphemy law,” Mr Chaudhry said.

Sabir Afaqi said wrong interpretations of religion had led to bloodshed in the country. The media, too, did not strive to highlight the viewpoint of the religious minorities.

Anup Singh, a lawyer, said: “The government has been striving to do whatever it can for the uplift of religious minorities, and we should not disregard the efforts being made for our betterment.”

Bishop John Mal said: “We need to collaborate and create networks among ourselves to foster unity which will lead to the realization of our dreams. Only a positive approach can help us achieve our purpose.”

Irfan Mufti of South Asia Partnership-Pk said: “Military rule is the second name of tyranny and, right now, the civil society in Pakistan is not being given enough recognition.” Therefore, he said: “We need to come forward and, through a participatory approach, try to undo the negativity that surrounds us.”

Dr Jennifer Bennet, director of Population and Environment Communication Centre, SDPI, said the word minority had become a derogatory term and, now, unlike the past, discrimination was being carried out even at the school level.

“The ambience of the value system experienced by our parents is long gone and the mood has changed completely. Now, we need to work for removing differences existing at every level. Only collective action by the civil society will take us forward,” she said.

The participants of the conference made a number of recommendations. They asked the government to ensure safety of the lives, properties, institutions and worship places of the minorities.

They called for putting an end to discriminatory practices, and all policies and laws based on prejudices. The current curricula should be revised since it gives rise to religious and communal biases.

It (curricula) should also highlight the role of non-Muslim communities in the creation and development of Pakistan, the participants said. The media policy should be sensitized towards religious tolerance, they stressed.

They also called for preparing voters list, irrespective of religious identity, to remove discrimination from the very basic level.

The political parties should work for a strong democratic system to end political uncertainty in the country. Minority wings should be abolished and persons belonging to religious minorities should be included in different committees formed within a political party.

The political parties should also unequivocally denounce policies based on religious, ethnic and gender biases in their political manifesto, the participants said. — Sadia Bokhari