Human rights groups in Pakistan highlighted calls for recognition and respect for the rights of minorities — mostly Christians and Hindus — during the observance last week of National Minorities Day in the country.
Rights group Rwadari Tehreek noted that “deep-rooted religious discrimination and forms of inequality, hate speech, instigation and provocations against minorities” continue in the country.
Samson Salamat, head of Rwadari Tehreek, cited the “false blasphemy allegations and continuous pressure to force Hindu and Christian women and girls to convert.”
He said that under the situation, “it is natural that members of religious minorities feel insecure and threatened.”
“Their voices remain unheard despite the deteriorating situation of their rights,” he said, adding that minorities “demand nothing less than the implementation of the promises made by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah,” Pakistan’s founder.
National Minority Day is celebrated to remember the contribution of minorities in the progress of Pakistan besides upholding rights, recognizing services, sacrifices of minorities in the creation of Pakistan, and nation-building.
The day recalls the vision of the country’s founder with reference to his promise to protect the rights of non-Muslims in the newly created country.
Salamat, however, said that these days, “discrimination against minorities is institutionalized,” adding that humbler jobs are reserved for Christians and Hindus.
“Solving the issues that matter to minorities can only come through the political process,” he said in a report on AsiaNews.
Among the recommendations made by the Rwadari Tehreek is the renaming of “National Minorities Day,” celebrated on August 11, to “Equal Citizenship Day.”
The group also wanted the blasphemy legislation in the country revised and an independent commission of inquiry should assess cases of forced conversion.
“It is a real shame that religious minorities are not represented in the corridors of power due to the shortcomings of Pakistan’s democratic system,” said Salamat.
