ISLAMABAD, Oct 27: The All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) chairman, Shahbaz Bhatti, has pledged that the government should reserve seats for the minorities in the upper house of parliament.

In a letter addressed to President General Pervez Musharraf, the APMA leader said the minorities could play a role in legislation and work for the resolutions of important issues.

“If the government does not accept our demand of reserved seats in the Senate, we will approach the Supreme Court,” Mr Bhatti stated.

“The minorities should also be given an opportunity to represent their communities in the upper house of the parliament.

He said if seats for non-Muslim could be reserved in the national and provincial assemblies, “the same can be done for the Senate,” Mr Bhatti said in the letter.

“About 23 seats have been reserved for the minorities in the provincial assemblies and 10 in the National Assembly. The seats reserved in the Senate should be in the same proportion.

“This measure would help improve Pakistan’s image all over the world, he added. PPI adds: Mr Bhatti also expressed his concern over the delay in the notification of the minority MNAs and MPAs.

“The delay, besides creating doubts among the minority, is also hindering the process of formation of government.

“The Election Commission should have notified the names of the successful candidates who filed their nomination papers with the commission,” he said.

The APMA chairman said: “According to the election law, the minorities are to be elected under the system of proportional representation from the lists submitted to the EC.”