KP hailed for laws on minorities properties, institutions
Welcoming the legislation regarding properties and institutions of minorities, the community leaders and others, demanded of the provincial government to implement enact the law in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The demand was made during a consultative meeting on Religious Freedom and Mionorities Rights”, organized by South Asian Partnership (SAP) Pakistan at local hotel here on Tuesday. Raedish Singh Tonni belonging from Sigh Community, Augustine Jacob of Christian, Ayuba Khan, senior journalist SAP female representative Shahida Shah, Sanam Ara and others, participated as key-note speakers at the meeting.
The speakers informed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has recently passed a bill regarding properties and institutions. He said the step was highly commendable of by the incumbent provincial government, and demanding it should be implemented it letter and spirit.
During the meeting, the participants strongly deplored the publication of profane caricature by satirical French magazine ‘Charlie Hebdo’, urged the UN to play its due role for prevention of such printing of sacrilegious materials, which caused spreading of hurt religious sentiment and create hatred among the people belonging to different religion in the world.
Raedish Tonni and Augustine Jacob while speaking on the occasion said the legislation by provincial assembly would helpful to occupation of properties of minorities’ communities, by the land mafia and influential people. They stressed the need for immediate implementation of law.
The minorities leaders said the most of youth from non-Muslim communities were deprived from education facility due to poverty and less opportunities. They regretted the minorities’ representatives, elected on reserved seats, was not play their due role in raising the issue at provincial assemblies and parliament, because of the miseries of non-Muslim community multiplying in the country.
The participants blamed the political parties for not electing true representatives from minorities, and stressed the need for openly raising voice for right of non-Muslim community on legislative assemblies and both houses of the parliament.
The religious extremism, they said, was spoiling the image of Pakistan in rest of the world, adding that the issues could only be resolved by respecting each other religious and values.
They viewed all religious gave a message of peace, tranquility and brotherhood. The main reason behind growing issues and challenges, due to going faraway from own teachings of Holy book Qura’an and Hadith, the participants said. They added the peace can only be restored with collective efforts and responsibilities of all everyone in the country. They demanded the government to conduct population census, and giving representatives of minorities community belonging from Kalash valley of Chitral.