PESHAWAR: The representatives of different non-Muslim communities on Friday urged the provincial government to bring reforms in the existing curriculum, saying in its current form, the curriculum is creating feelings of hatred towards non-Muslims instead of promoting interfaith harmony.
During a consultative meeting with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa MPAs, they also hailed the government for fixing three percent quotas for non-Muslims in jobs and admission to educational institutions.
They, however, demanded of the government to ensure that the said quota is implemented in letter and spirit.
The MPAs, including special assistant to the chief minister on minorities Sardar Soran Singh, Syed Jaffar Shah of ANP, Mufti Fazal Ghafoor and Askar Pervez of JUI-F, and Ziaullah Bangash and Ms Naeema Naz of PTI, told non-Muslims that they would play their due role inside the house and outside for the protection of their rights.
The consultation on ‘Religious freedom and rights of religious minorities’ was organised by the South Asia Partnership Pakistan with support of The Asia Foundation.
The participants unanimously formed a coordination committee comprising the participating MPAs and representatives from Hindu, Christian and Sikh communities, which would pinpoint the problems of religious minorities and bring the same to the notice of the government and the provincial assembly.
Sardar Soran Singh said his ministry had moved a summary for creation of the post of the minority welfare officer at district level, who would be responsible for looking after the problems faced by non-Muslims.
“The provincial government has enhanced the quota from one percent to three percent for non-Muslims in jobs and educational institutions, but the bureaucracy has been creating hurdles to its implementation,” he said.
He said the government had also set up a working group on minorities, which would float recommendations for the protection of the religious minorities’ rights.
Chairman of All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement Haroon Sarab Diyal said outside the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, an organisation had displayed a banner and made wall chalking carrying the message that Kashmir could not be librated without the thrashing of Hindus.
He said such messages were creating feelings of hatred among Muslims towards local Hindu population.
“Our first enemy is the curriculum, which needs drastic reforms as it has been brainwashing students and creating hatred among them towards religious minorities,” he said.
Mr Diyal said non-Muslims in tribal areas had been facing problems in preparing domicile certificates.
He said non-Muslims were not having crematorium in Peshawar and had to take their dead to Attock for cremation.
Mr Diyal demanded that religious places of non-Muslims be returned to them by the Evacuee Trust Board as they had leased it out on commercial basis.
SAP regional chief Sikandar Zaman and representatives Fida Hussain and Zainab Khan highlighted the rights of minorities as given in the Constitution as well as international conventions.
They said the rights to expression, association, assembly and thought were among the fundamental human rights, which were also protected by the Constitution.
Bishop of Peshawar Sarfaraz Humphery Peter said at grassroots levels, Christians had been facing Non-Muslims demand syllabus reforms discrimination, while the provincial government had been making undue interference in the affairs of one of the oldest and prestigious educational institutions, Edwardes College Peshawar.
He claimed that he was visited by officials of an intelligence agency and was told not to appoint a foreign principal to the said college.
The bishop said members of the local Christian community wanted to establish a rehabilitation centre for women and children, who were widowed and orphaned respectively in the twin blasts at All Saints Church but needed land for it.
Mufti Fazal Ghafoor said the curriculum should be based on tolerance and inter-faith harmony.
He said he would raise the issue of Edwardes College in the assembly.
Charan Jeet Singh said in the curriculum, Hindus had been portrayed as oppressive money lenders, whereas Sikhs had been mentioned as barbaric, who had killed Muslim during the Partition.
He questioned why the minds of students were poisoned against minorities.
Syed Jaffar Shah said politics was intermingled with religion which had turned into a cause of creating hatred among different communities towards each other.
Senior journalist Shamim Shahid, provincial information secretary of Qaumi Watan Party, Tariq Ahmad Khan and a representative of civil society, Shakil Waheedullah, shared the view that the Constitution had made it mandatory that only a Muslim could become president and prime minister, which was an injustice to non-Muslims, and therefore, such provisions should be properly amended.
They said besides reforms in laws, they also wanted behavioural changes in the society.