TOBA TEK SINGH, Aug 22: The Pakistan Minority Councillors Alliance (PMCA) and other non-government organisations have urged all political parties to field minority candidates for national and provincial assembly seats in the general election.

Addressing a press conference at the district press club, PMCA convenor Atif Jamil, Human Development Centre director Bonnie Mendes and District Council member Ayub Anjum said there were “at least 36 constituencies in the country where minority voters are in majority and where minority candidates can win easily”. They said that such a move would help minorities play a more active role in the mainstream politics.

They said that minorities had struggled for the restoration of the joint electorate system in the country, but they were still out of the mainstream politics because political parties were not fielding minority candidates in the general election. They said that minority candidates were being picked only for seats reserved for them. They suggested that the seats reserved for minorities be filled with technocrats or people who had served society and not with political workers.