A representative delegation on Saturday urged the leaders of major political parties to work for bringing electoral reforms in the country ensuring more participation of non-Muslims in assemblies, the Senate and other major decision-making bodies to secure equal rights for them.
Meeting the political leaders of various parties, the National Lobbying Delegation (NLD) for Electoral Rights of non-Muslims demanded including the agenda for constitutional reforms in their manifestos for election 2013 and to reform the constitution and the Pakistan Penal Code.
The delegation met Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, MQM Deputy Convener Farooq Sattar, PML-Q Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Minister of State for National Harmony Akram Masih Gill, PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq, Jamaat-e-Islami Lahore chief Ameerul Azim and Chaudhry Manzoor, a former PPP parliamentarian, member PPP Manifesto Committee for Elections 2013 and in-charge People’s Labour Bureau to present their recommendations before them.
During the meetings, the political leadership vowed to take up these suggestions with their parties well before the next general elections.
The NLD made recommendations in light of the two research studies conducted by the Church World Service Pakistan/Afghanistan (CWS P/A) to make the joint electorate work in Pakistan. The political leaders acknowledged that laws barring non-Muslims from assuming higher offices in the state institutions needed reforms. During discussion with the delegation Khan said, “I am shocked to hear this. We cannot progress as a country and move forward as a nation like this.”
He also criticized certain Muslim groups who were preaching the people of Kailash valley to convert to Islam and termed it un-Islamic.
Khan promised that he would do away with all kinds of discrimination if he comes to power. “We will protect the religious minorities of Pakistan once we are in power,” he added. Mushahid said, “I think these are important points. We will take up your suggestions with our party leadership,” He said, “I suggest you to take up two issues first, the absence of marriage and birth certificate systems and registration of national identity cards, to begin with”.
Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and MQM Deputy Convener Farooq Sattar, said, “We will work with other political parties to build a consensus to get Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s famous speech of August 11 inserted as Article 2-B in the constitution of Pakistan. This will help offset the discriminatory undertones of Article 2-A, and other similar articles in the constitution.”
Sattar said, “Our party is seriously considering nomination of non-Muslim candidates on general seats and to award party tickets to them in the next elections.”
He also supported the delegation’s suggestion that there should be reserved seats for the non-Muslim women. Gill assured the delegation that he would take up the issues of registration of national identity card and marriage and death certificate with the authorities concerned and advised the delegation to hold a meeting with the NADRA chairman for resolving issues related with the issuance of national identity cards.
Manzoor said, “I am all for it. This is what our party stands for. I will take up your suggestions in the meeting of our manifesto committee and would do whatever I could to get your views across to the all levels of party leadership and in the government.”
“Most of the problems you have raised today and focused on during your presentations date back to 1980s. I strongly feel that we are still being haunted by the policies of the Zia era,” Manzoor said. PML-N Chairman Haq said, “I am impressed by the efforts you have made to prepare such a valuable data and I am thankful to all of you for sharing these suggestions. I would present these suggestions during our party’s next meeting”. Raja said he was totally against the misuse of the blasphemy laws. “There is nothing bad about this. What we need to do is to figure out a way that it is not misused,” he said, adding that most of such allegations and accusations were never prosecuted following a due course of law.
“We need to ensure that first information report is registered based on evidence against the person who is accused of blasphemy then the court should decide the matter. It is the court’s job to adjudicate law,” he said, blaming those who took law in their hands and admitted that it was the most unfortunate aspect of these laws. The NLD also met JI leader Ameerul Azim and Zikarullah Mujahid, the JI secretary general, at the Jamaat office in Lahore. “Our party stands for the rule of law and we favor equal rights for all Pakistanis irrespective of their creed and customs,” Azim said.
He agreed that these were important issues and it was the responsibility of political parties to resolve the issues faced by the non-Muslims.
