PESHAWAR: The participants of a consultative meeting have demanded of the provincial government to protect the properties and institutions of religious minorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The meeting on ‘Religious freedom and minorities rights’ was organised by South Asian Partnership (SAP) Pakistan at a local hotel here on Tuesday. Raedish Singh Tonni of Sikh community, Augustine Jacob of Christian community, journalist Ayuba Khan, SAP representative Shahida Shah and Sanam Ara were key-note speakers on the occasion.

The speakers said that provincial assembly had recently passed a bill regarding protecting properties and institutions of minorities. They lauded the government for enacting the law and demanded that it should be implemented in letter and spirit.

The participants of the meeting condemned publication of profane caricature in French magazine Charlie Hebdo and urged the United Nations to play its role in preventing publication of such sacrilegious material, which could harm religious sentiments of people.

Speaking on the occasion, Raedish Tonni and Augustine Jacob said that legislation made by the provincial assembly would help in protecting properties of minority communities from land grabbers and mafia. They stressed the need for immediate implementation of the law so that minorities could heave a sigh of relief.

They said that non-Muslim youth felt that they were deprived of basic amenities including education and health facilities owing to poverty and lack of opportunities.

The speakers alleged that elected representatives of minorities failed to raise voice in provincial assemblies and National Assembly to mitigate sufferings and miseries of non-Muslim communities.

Meeting demands implementation of recently enacted law

The participants of the meeting alleged that political parties were not electing true representatives of minorities. They stressed the need for raising voice for the rights of minorities in provincial assemblies, Senate and National Assembly.

The religious extremism, they said, was tarnishing image of Pakistan in the world. They added that the issue could only be resolved through respecting each other’s religion and values.

They said that all religions gave a message of peace, tranquillity and brotherhood. The participants of the meeting said that the prevalent challenges emerged because they ignored the teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah. They said that peace could only be restored through collective efforts and responsibilities.

They demanded of the government to conduct census in the country as soon as possible and give representation to Kalash minority of Chitral district in the assemblies.

Published in Dawn January 28th, 2015

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