LAHORE, June 20: The Christian Liberation Front Pakistan has demanded restoration of reserved seats for minorities in the national and provincial assemblies on the plea that it will be difficult for a minority candidate to get elected on a general seat.

CLFP chief Shahbaz Bhatti said in a letter addressed to the president of Pakistan that the government had taken a just and bold step by restoring the joint electorate system enabling non-Muslims to participate in political process on equal basis.

Mr Bhatti said due to the presence of undemocratic system of separate electorate for a long time, a wide gulf had been created between majority and minority communities.

He urged the president that the reserved seats for minorities, as provided in the 1973 Constitution, should be restored. This system, he argued, could be maintained even for a specific period till a proper democratic culture was developed in Pakistan.

He also suggested that the Election Commission should devise a mechanism under which political parties could be motivated to fix a quota for minority members and issue them tickets to contest election to the National and Provincial assemblies.