ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) MNA Asiya Nasir on Saturday said that article 25 of the Constitution says all men and women are equal in Pakistan but at the same time a non-Muslim cannot become the prime minister or the president, which is against the constitution of the country.

“The constitutional provision that puts a bar on minorities from holding the office of prime minister as well as that of the president is unacceptable for the minorities in the country,” she said.

The JUI-F MNA said that it is difficult time for minorities across the country because religious fundamentalists are involved in registering cases of blasphemy against non-Muslims.

“Not a single person, who misuses the laws against minorities, has ever been punished,” she added.

She said that incidents of kidnappings and forced marriages of Hindu girls are increasing day by day in Sindh province while the Hindu community is compelled to migrate India due to the fear of persecution.

“It is an alarming situation that hate material against minorities is already included in the school curriculum in Sindh,” she added.

Asiya said the government should establish a separate ministry for religious minorities at the federal level along with increasing the number of seats for minorities in parliament.

“There is nothing new for the betterment of the poor in the budget presented by the government for the next fiscal year,” she said.

Earlier, PPP MNA Dr Nafisa Shah said that the federal government should accept the responsibility of terrorist attack on Karachi airport because the airport security force is under the power of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

She said that Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta could be next Waziristan due to the ongoing situation of terrorism in the country.

“The government is looking confused in the operation against terrorists despite the fact that peace talks had virtually ended,” she said.

The PPP MNA also said that the government has been unable to arrest culprits who are involved in attacks on the religious sights of minorities.

She disclosed that Interior Minister Ch Nisar Ali Khan was unhappy with his own government as it failed to allocate a budget for security expenditures.

Shah said that the government should allocate one per cent additional share to provinces like KP, Sindh and Balochistan which are fighting against terrorism.

“The government prepares the budget on dictation from the IMF,” she alleged.

MQM MNA Abdul Waseem said that the government should conduct local government elections as soon as possible to convert power to the common people.

He also called for three new provinces to be created, including Hazara, South Punjab and FATA.

He said that it is impossible for the government to overcome the budget deficit.

Meanwhile, PTI MNA Dr Azhar Jadoon said the federal government should take an initiative to establish new provinces including Hazara province.

He said that the provincial assembly of the KP had already sent the resolution to the National Assembly in this regard.

PML-N MNA Ijaz Ch said that the government should increase the budget for the defense while Pakistan should avoid interfering in the internal matters of Afghanistan.

PTI MNA Saeedullah Marwat said there was no danger to democracy in the country due to the tussle between the government and military leadership.

“It is important to give rights to the provinces according to the constitution,” he said.

PML-N MNA Captin Safdar said the prime minister will inaugurate the motorway for different districts of Hazara on August 14.