LARKANA: The Aug 11, 1947 speech of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, in which he spelled out rights of minorities and called for an end to faith-based discrimination, is being incorporated in the curriculum on the directives of Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

This was stated by senior Sindh Minister for Education and Literacy Nisar Ahmed Khuhro while speaking at a seminar on “Religious freedom and rights of minorities” held at a local hotel on Thursday. The event was organised by the Civil Society Support Programme (CSSP) in collaboration with Right of Expression, Assembly, Association and Thought (REAT) Network.

He said that the Quaid-i-Azam in his speech focused on religious freedom and protection of minorities’ rights and clearly outlined the rights and privileges every member of society should have as regards to religion.

Mr Khuhro said that the move to include the speech in curriculum would help encourage people, particularly the young generation, to face and fight intolerance in society, besides spreading awareness of religious freedom. Mr Khuhro said that the PPP had been advocating minorities constitutional rights in the past and because it believed that minorities were playing an effective role in the country’s development. They were also contributing towards strengthening of democratic institutions, he added.

“Everyone in Pakistan has the right to follow the religion of his choice,” he stressed, and observed that some extremist elements were out to impose their self-proclaimed Shariah in the country which was in conflict with the true spirit of Islam and the message given by the Father of the Nation. The PPP would always stand by its commitment of equal rights for every citizen, he pledged.

The minister recalled that slain prime minister Benazir Bhutto had played a big role in protecting the rights of religious minorities as per the party’s manifesto.

Mr Khuhro also made mention of the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2013 passed by the provincial assembly recently, and held out the assurance that all issues relating to the religious minorities in Sindh would be resolved. The five per cent quota for minorities in government jobs would also be ensured, he said.

Earlier, speaking at the seminar Larkana Hindu Panchayat Council (HPC) chairperson Advocate Kalpana Devi highlighted the issues being faced by religious minorities, particularly the Hindu community, in the province. She claimed that the incumbent federal government had failed to ensure protection of the life and property of members of the minority communities.

The HPC leader observed that killing, kidnapping for ransom, forced marriages and other crimes targeted against members of the Hindu, Sikh and other minority communities could not be stopped, rather, the recent months saw an upsurge.

She complained that the minorities’ representatives in the National Assembly, Senate and provincial assemblies had miserably failed to raise the issues of minorities on the floor of the elected houses effectively. She also complained that the government was not fully implementing the jobs quota for minorities.

She called for a complete manual of Hindu laws covering all the issues of the community.

Dr Pirah Sakina Gaad, Aftab Nek Mohammed Bhutto, Shaukat Sathio, Lok Chand, Afzal Shaikh and a large number of civil society activists and members of the minority communities attended the seminar.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2015

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