A Christian rights group on Thursday urged cricket hero turned politician Imran Khan to scrap a major rally planned for Christmas Day, calling the move insensitive to the minority group. Khan set Pakistan alight and surprised critics last month by drawing at least a hundred thousand people to a rally in his hometown of Lahore, transforming overnight from a wannabe to potential kingmaker in polls expected next year. He now hopes to top that success with a rally in Karachi on December 25, which holds special significance as the birthday of the country’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah and a public holiday. But in an open letter, the Centre for Human Rights Education called on Khan to change the date and send a positive message to persecuted minorities that he would work to reverse decades of discrimination.
“Arranging a rally on Christmas Day shows they are not sensitive to the Christian community,” said Samson Salamat, director of the Lahore-based group and a Christian human rights activist. “This is an important day for us and it is our basic right that we should be given respect,” he told AFP. Arif Alvi, secretary general of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) said the party would “consider the suggestion” but said it would hamper preparations to change the date.
