HYDERABAD, Sept 29: The All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) has condemned the “stepmotherly treatment being meted out to the minorities” of Pakistan and threatened to challenge “all the discriminatory laws against the minorities” in the superior courts.

Speaking at a press conference at the press club on Monday, the chairman of the APMA, Shahbaz Bhatti, former MPA from Balochistan and provincial president of the APMA, Michael Javaid, former MPA and the provincial president of the APMA, Sindh, Saleem Khursheed Khokhar, Punjab organizer, Khalid Gill and others alleged that the minorities of the country were being discriminated against in all walks of life and they were being victimized and harassed.

They said that the female members of the minorities were subjected to “criminal assault and forced to change their religion”.

They said that the extremist elements of religious parties had announced that “it was not a sin to kill Jews and Christians”.

Shahbaz Bhatti said that in 11 acts of terrorism, 50 members belonging to minorities had been killed and 100 had been injured but not a single accused had been arrested so far.

Referring to the Rimpa Plaza carnage, Mr Bhatti said that the heirs of the deceased had not been compensated and the complainant and the witnesses were being harassed and intimidated.

The leaders of the APMA demanded that those belonging to the minorities should be given employment not only in government departments but also in the armed forces as the Christians, Hindus and Sikhs living in Pakistan were patriotic people and loyal Pakistanis.

They said that the lawyers belonging to the minorities should be given representation in the judiciary right from the lower courts to the apex court and the temples and Gurdwaras should be returned to the Hindus and Sikhs respectively.

They alleged that the lands allotted to the Christians in Jati, Sujawal, Thatta and Sanghar in 1962 had been forcibly occupied by others.

They demanded that these lands should be returned to the actual allottees.

The leaders of the alliance complained that the fundamental human rights of Christian women consigned to Darul Amans and prisons were being violated and “they were being forced to change their religion”.

They demanded that full protection should be provided to these unfortunate women.