ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Christians should make efforts for the abolition of reserved seats for minorities in the national and provincial assemblies as any representation system based on religion will strengthen the minority-majority divide, Christian rights activist Rachna Mansoor has said.
In a press statement regarding the ‘unfair’ allocation of reserved seats by major political parties, Ms Mansoor said that once these reserved seats are abolished, then political parties will have to give representation to non-Muslim Pakistanis on general seats.
“Advocating equality without equitable distribution of resources means nothing. There are many Christians who disagree that their number is lesser than Hindus and they even did not agree with the census results,” she said, adding that historically, the Jati or upper caste Hindus have been far less in number than Christians and scheduled castes in Pakistan.
“It’s unfortunate that in the current electoral system only those minority members, especially from the Hindu community, were brought to the fore because of their connections with the party heads,” she said.
Ms Mansoor also lamented that Christians were subjected to discrimination and persecution in Pakistan due to their faith.
“The Pakistani state must ensure equality for all citizens irrespective of their religion, caste and creed. It is very unfortunate that Christians are targeted with the blasphemy laws to settle personal scores and vendettas. Despite repeated claims, the state has failed to stop the misuse of the blasphemy laws, which continue to hang over the heads of Christians like the sword of Damocles,” she said, urging a repeal of the laws to ensure security for the marginalized community.