Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) - Religious minorities remain at the center of a political, religious and social debate in Pakistan. In view of the election to be held in March, a formal election procedure remains a point of contention among political parties, but the proposed changes do not affect religious minorities.
So far, the Election Commission of Pakistan has not ruled. In a note sent to Fides, Nasir Saeed, director of the NGO "Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement," (CLAAS) notes that "nothing will change for religious minorities: currently there is only one Christian senator out of 104 members. Under current law, senators and representatives of religious minorities are included in the lists in special places reserved for them by the parties, and are required to follow the instructions of the party. Often they are not free to speak of discrimination and the rights of Christians. Today it is urgent to grant equal rights to religious minorities in Pakistan".
The issue of the rights of minorities is back in vogue because some politicians and intellectuals want to eliminate it, replacing it with the term "non-Muslim citizens". "It would be a betrayal for them, for a man, Minister for Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, who made the history of Pakistan", said prof. Shahid Mobeen, Pakistani professor at the Pontifical Lateran University. Bhatti was killed in March 2, 2011 in Islamabad, and yesterday in Pakistan and other parts of the world his anniversary was commemorated. "Bhatti fought for the rights and the development of religious minorities. The term is recognized and used internationally: minorities, so understood, are recipients of assistance programs and development by Western countries. By changing the term, as well as betraying the identity, would mean losing those contributions", recalls the professor, who joins all those intellectuals who ask to keep the expression "religious minorities". (PA) (Agenzia Fides 03/03/2015)
