PESHAWAR: Representatives of different organisations of minority communities have urged the government to announce public holidays on their different religious occasions and take effective steps for protection of their worship places.

The demands were raised at a seminar titled ‘religious freedom and minority rights’ at the Peshawar Press Club on Friday. People belonging to different communities participated in the function organised by the South Asia Partnership Pakistan.

The speakers included Haroon Sarb Diyal, Radish Singh Tony, Augustan Jacob, Sanam Ara and Shahida Shah. They demanded of the government to include religious books of the non-Muslims into the syllabus so the students could learn about their religions.

Mr Diyal said that there was no ‘shamshan ghat’ for cremation of Hindus’ bodies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata, and they were forced to bury them. He said that the government should conduct census of the minorities and construct residential colonies for them in different cities. He also stressed the need of giving jobs to educated youths of minorities in government departments, including the law-enforcement agencies.

The properties of Hindus, said Mr Diyal had been occupied by people or government departments and even the worship places had been grabbed with no check from the authorities concerned.

Radish Singh said that the people of his community were facing problems to visit their religious places in India due to poverty and demanded of the government for provision of transport facility and other items of basic need.

Mr Jacob suggested that the government should take steps for bringing closer the people of different communities as they all were Pakistanis and enjoyed the same rights.

He said that the government knew well about the problems of the minorities and it was its duty to pay them proper attention.

Published in Dawn, November 1st , 2014