Islamabad: At a time when the entire country is welcoming new Prime Minister Imran Khan’s first address to the nation in which he has given a road-map for ‘Naya Pakistan’ or New Pakistan that he has been promising in his election campaign and public meetings, Pakistan’s minorities have cautiously welcomed his intentions.
In his first address to the nation, Prime Minister Imran Khan promised austerity, accountability, justice and large-scale reforms in civil bureaucracy, health, education sectors so that a significant change could be brought in people’s lives but at the same time he didn’t touch the subject related to welfare, protection and uplift of Pakistan’s minorities.
While talking to Gulf News a number of minorities’ representatives on Monday expressed their surprise that Imran Khan who has been promising to transform Pakistan into Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s vision where everyone could live in peace without any regard for religion, creed or belief didn’t give even a passing reference to minorities of Pakistan.
Even Imran Khan’s team of federal cabinet doesn’t have a single non-Muslim member, they said.
Vice-chairman of Minorities Alliance of Pakistan, Shamaun Alfred Gill said he didn’t have much hope that Imran Khan’s becoming Prime Minister of Pakistan would augur well for the country’s minorities.
“In his first address, Imran Khan should have specifically spoken about minorities and given them assurance of life and property’s security in Pakistan,” said Gill.
“We have been raising our voice on a number of forums for adequate representation of minorities in the Parliament according to their number and we demand of the new government led by Prime Minister Imran Khan too to order census so that minorities’ exact number could be given,” Gill said.
He also called for implementation of ex-CJP Tassaduq Hussain Jillani’s 2014 landmark judgement that had directed the government to constitute National Council for minorities’ rights.
According to Gill the Supreme Court had taken a suo motu after a twin suicide bomb blasts in All Saints Church in Peshawar in 2013, in which 127 people were killed and over 250 injured and in 32-page judgement asked the government to form a special task force for the protection of worship places of minorities.
Unfortunately, the government overlooked that judgement and minorities continue to feel insecure, he said.
A minorities rights activist Kapil Dev cautiously welcomed Imran Khan’s ‘New Pakistan’ address saying the fact that Imran Khan didn’t pick a single minority community member in his 21-member cabinet leaves many questions unanswered.
“How can Khan Sahib claim to make Pakistan according to vision of Quaid whose first Law Minister Jogendra Nath Mandal was a Hindu,” asked Kapil.
Mandal was not only Law Minister of Quaid’s first cabinet, he also chaired the First Constituent Assembly of Pakistan’s inaugural session, he further said.
I would welcome Imran Khan from the core of my heart if he had given representation to non-Muslims of Pakistan in his cabinet.
On the other hand, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has taken a Hindu Minister Hariram Kishorilal as Provincial Minister for Minorities Affairs, Social Welfare and Prisons that has given confidence to the non-Muslim communities, said Kapil Dev.
