Mr. Haroon Nasir (Research Associate Christian Study Centre): “Ladies and Gentlemen: I welcome you to this dialogue session at Christian Study Centre. Besides dialogue, the Christian Study Centre holds peace programs in Punjab and the North West Frontier Provinces (NWFP) provinces. This project is known as Weaving Communities of Hope: Interfaith Harmony Among Grassroots Communities. It holds seminars and consultations and training programs for NGOs / CBO’s, where we train social activists so that they may continue to conduct similar programs in their respective areas”.
“This seminar is an effort to bring together the members of the minority and majority communities of Pakistan who have played a role in this country. However, their rights are not recognized. Therefore they feel neglected. The purpose of this dialogue is to bring forward the voices of such people, communities and groups. My friend Mr. Zafar Habib is here. He represents CSDS, which has taken this initiative and has brought us together so that we could all share our experiences and worries and come forward with a common understanding”.
Fr. Archie D’Souza:
“We must keep the title of today’s dialogue in mind. I understand that the caste system operates in the South Asian region. It prevents people from accepting others as equal human beings. We need to think collectively as a nation and not as sects or small groups. If we really want democracy, then we must put aside all our religious prejudices in order to accept others as brothers and sisters. Then we do not have to use the term majorities or minorities. If we are talking about majorities and minorities on the basis of religion or population, then we are further dividing people”.
George Clement:
“The topic of Democracy in South Asia refers to majorities and minorities. There is a need to specify whether these are political, cultural, or religious majorities and minorities. If these concepts are religious, then the fear is that we may lose the right direction, because some people may consider religious dogmas, beliefs, and popular religious practices to be the basis of division. There is need to narrow the topic”.
Iqbal Bali:
“It is better to start with Fr. Archie’s point about the ‘State of Democracy’. Pakistanis take pride in calling themselves Bukhari, Lohdi, Khilji, Ghouri, and so on. Instead of South Asia, we link ourselves more with Central Asia and the Middle East. As far as democracy is concerned in Pakistan, it is nothing more than one- person-one-vote. Pakistan’s official name is ‘Islamic Republic of Pakistan’, which means that the emphasis is on religion. Therefore, the ‘Religious State’ cannot be a democratic state as envisaged by the Objectives Resolution of 1949”.
Session I: Socio-Economic & Cultural Realities
Moderator: Ms. Mangla Sharma
Mr. Haroon Nasir:
“To begin our discussion, the first session has been designed to discuss the socio-economic and cultural realities. In this session, we will discuss what are the existing practices. We claim that we are very tolerant people and that Islam has a magnificent view of religious minorities. But we will share what are the bitter realities, which are opposite to our claims. Ms. Mangla Sharma is here with us from Karachi. She is a local councilor. She will share her experiences later but in this session she will be leading us to a meaningful discussion”.
Ms. Mangla Sharma:
“Overall there is an understanding that minorities in Pakistan are given religious facilities. I come from the grass-roots level where basic facilities are missing. The situation is even worse in the slums with non-Muslim, majority population. We should begin our discussion with solid points where we could disclose how minorities are dealt in this so-called progressive society. I wish to ask why are we called minorities why not ‘non-Muslims’. We must share our feelings on such issues so that we may understand our actual situation”.
Mahjabeen:
There is the Hindu majority in Thar, but Muslims dominate there in every field. Muslims get jobs very easily whereas non-Muslims are often ignored. Hindus are only hired by the private sector. Why is the government hesitant to hire non-Muslims in different sectors? Majority of Pakistani Hindus know nothing about India. But still they are blamed for having relations with India.
Fr. Archie D’Souza:
“I differ with this view. It is not true that Hindus are in majority. Secondly, Agha Khan Foundation has a special program for them. They have developed a special curriculum for them.
M. Parkash:
“I am also working in the same area as Ms. Mehjabeen and I am a member of Bait-ul-Maal. Though it is claimed that Bait-ul-Maal helps non-Muslims as well, but in reality all the funds are distributed among Muslim majority members only. Regarding curriculum, some changes have been made, which is appreciable. Another sector that needs attention is agriculture. We need to make some changes there as well”.
Rufin Wilson:
“When we talk about the socio-cultural perspective, we have to consider our values and the social system. The issue of majority and minority is considered only in the light of religion. But society is also divided on class basis. Democracy means equality both socially and economically. If this is not so, then we cannot make any system function well”.
Rukman Singh:
“I come from Kohat. In our area non-Muslims are known as Kafirs (infidels). The word Kafir evokes special hatred among the Muslims. Right from the beginning students are taught that non-Muslims are Kafirs and they are ‘evil’. Muslims are the only ‘good’ people. They are good because they go to the mosque and they pray five times a-day. Non-Muslims are not good because they worship several gods. Therefore, they are inferior in every respect. Further, it is the religious duty of every Muslim to kill Kafirs as Allah likes it”.
Attique Ahmed Swati:
“Kafir is an Arabic word which means the one who denies God. This word is then used in Urdu with an entirely different meaning. I am an Ahmadi. The statement in the application forms for identity card and passport is very tricky. We are caught in between these statements: if we sign, then we deny Imam Mehdi, and if we do not sign, then we deny the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The government has put us in an agonizing situation. We face a number of religious and social problems. We negated the Hindu caste system at independence but in Pakistan we face another kind of caste system. To get a good job, one needs a background and not a degree. This is all because of the hidden caste system in our so-called Islamic society”.
Iqbal Bali:
“On 13th August 1947 I slept as an Indian Punjabi. However, when I got up I was a Pakistani Punjabi. Everything was changed and I became another sort of a minority and an alien to the land. It just happened because of the event of 14th August 1947. Pakistan’s government denies bonded labour; but bonded labour is prevalent here and the influentials are backing it. Other than bonded labour, laws in Pakistan have loopholes and the employees of the department/ministry are experts in exploiting these loopholes. They themselves guide citizens how to circumvent the law. Therefore, Pakistan has become a homeland of the corrupt”.
Arshad Rizvi:
“We must focus ourselves on the actual situation in Pakistan. Among Muslims there are Shiites and Sunnis. Then there are sub-sects in these two major sects. Religious minorities comprise Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Bahai’s and Parsis. Though all religions preach love, but the reality is different. Religious minorities are segregated against in all fields of life (civil service, armed forces, government jobs). Religious minorities are not represented in these sectors according to their population ratio. Even the role of religious minorities in the history of Pakistan is denied. All their efforts in the fields of war, education, and health are purposely ignored. Who has done this? We need to look into this matter as well”.
“Regarding education, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) researched the curriculum to search hatred material present in our curriculum, which causes inferiority complexes among people. It must bring about a sense of composite nationality. There was a strong reaction against this study, which shows how biased our people have become. They are not even ready that their incompetence should be explored. Further, there are Sindhis and Balochis in this country, whom we do not accept to be part of the nation. As to the state of Democracy in Pakistan, I would say that it should be state of democracy in minds first”.
Ms. Mangla Sharma:
“I want to Comment on the point of democracy where Mr. Arshad Rizvi left. When we talk about democracy in Pakistan we always say that everything is fine. Can we say economically that everything is good? Or, that a common person is benefiting from national resources? Or is it otherwise?”
George Clement:
“The focus in this discussion is on economic and cultural realities regarding minorities. The segregation of minorities is not because of the state structure. There are missionaries who extended help to bring the minorities back to mainstream. They provide support to the Christians in the field of education. However, the education provided was not-job oriented. As there were few factories in Pakistan, it meant few jobs. The Government also did injustice to the minorities by taking away the land under cultivation by the Christians to settle the Muslim mohajars. It deprived the poor of the livelihood and pushed them further into poverty. This was the first ‘structural injustice’ done to the Christian minority by the state”.
“Historically there had been a continuous migration towards cities, where Christian villagers started living without any facilities. Since they lacked both political and social leadership, they led a life of poverty. The only available leadership was religious. The state favoured Muslims. Christians could not go to agricultural fields. Factories were not enough. They could not start the small enterprise, nor were they able to work in the cottage industry. Minorities and majorities reflect an economic reality. The minorities have not realized what their priorities are. Therefore, there is need to set out the priorities. Until they come up with a better political and social leadership, they will not integrate themselves with the mainstream”.
“The psyche of the majority is different from the minority groups. Muslims suffer from a superiority complex vis-a-vis religion. The minorities on the other hand suffer from a ghetto mentality or inferiority complex. There is no doubt that there are many problems, but we must admit our own shortcomings. We cannot solve our economic and social problems unless we pursue an organized effort under a sincere and committed leadership”.
Abdul Khalique Junejo:
“It is very obvious from today’s discussion that we talk of minority and majority in the context of religion. This has become an international topic. This is not correct. The differences are created by the elite class, the state and to some extent ourselves. The basis on which Pakistan was created does not allow speaking in terms of majorities and minorities. Muslims of India said that their rights needed to be safeguarded. They demanded a separate homeland where now they have 96% population. In India they were a minority. In Pakistan they are in a majority. Then why do they still talk about minority-majority? They got this country on the basis of minority rights. So why don’t they now remember the rights of other minorities in Pakistan in the same way. We can also demand that the state must safeguard the rights of minorities as citizens of Pakistan without any discrimination of creed or religion”.
“We need to assess who got the major benefit after dividing people in the name of the religion. Till 1946, the feudal lords were not in the Muslim League. When they came to know that India was going to abolish vaderaism, the majority of landlords joined the Muslim League. For them, this was not a religious matter but a solution to an economic problem. Somebody said that we must talk in the context of the nation. Nation cannot be established in the name of religion. The backbone of any nation is its culture. Religion has no culture”.
Ayub Bhatti:
“I do not take majority and minority in its general meanings. What is needed is to safeguard the rights of the oppressed. Changing the whole mindset could do this. The need of the hour is to educate people”.
Fr. Archie D’Souza:
“The issue is not one of majority and minority, but of economy. The main problems here are poverty, authority and free wealth. The one who has wealth, uses authority. The one who is poor is oppressed by the Vedhera, Chaudhry and the pastor/mullah. This is the point for our dialogue”.
Alvin Murad:
“We have talked about stresses of the economy and the cultural aspect of discrimination. I understand that education is one of the important elements of culture, and curriculum of classes 1st to 10th of the Punjab. The Text Board in Pakistan takes care only of the majority Muslims. Non-Muslims who are equal citizens are completely ignored”.
Ali Nawaz:
“I am from Balochistan. There we have a harmonious culture. We accept people of other religions. Mr. Ram Lal Murree and Mr. Harey Masih Baloch are the leading political leaders there. Once we had a meeting in the Church as well, which shows that religiously we might differ but our social and cultural goals are the same. The question is who is creating these terms of monitory and majority. I believe it is the ones who are in power. Whenever we talk about our rights, the government uses these terms of minority and majority, saying that they are the minorities. Let’s not waste time over them. We must realize that these terms are used by the powerful people, and we must not follow their agenda”.
Romana Bashir:
“I belong to the same deprived class. So far we have discussed politics and education. We have not discussed media, which is a powerful medium to educate people. The government also carries out its agenda by means of media. We should realize that the government controls the media and it manipulates people through its campaign on media. The terms majority and minority were used by rulers, and these words are part of public psyche with the meanings which rulers wanted to insert. The term minority is not used for being few in number but for symbolizing inferiority, and the majority is equated with superiority. This has divided people who share the same culture and social and economic facilities. A Muslim feels that he belongs to the majority. Therefore he is superior to his Christian or Hindu neighbour who is in a minority”.
“I have great respect for the founder of the country Quaid-e-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah. But I am irritated because his date of birth is 25 December, which is our holy day. On that day, more emphasis is given to his birthday than to the birth of Christ”.
Waseem Wagha:
“I belong to the Siraiki region. We are about 50 million in Punjab and we are in a majority. But we are also treated like a minority. The situation of women is even worse than the minorities. Minority /majority is not a simple thing. For power grabbing, one has to exclude some people. Therefore, they point out that somebody is a Muslim, a Christian, a Siraiki and so on. Before partition, we did not know that we were Siraikis. Some years ago some people called themselves Multanis, some Riyasties. There are some religious minorities and some social. We need to counter such ideas and should only say that we are Pakistanis. Only we need to emphasize that other than our national identity we also have an ethnic identity”.
Terence Sigamony:
“We are talking about minority and majority and we are blaming the government, and the majority. Did we ever question ourselves? To what extent are we to be blamed? All our leaders, religious or political, never tried to bring the minority into the mainstream. We must not rely on others, but we must take up our responsibility”.
Ambreen Fatima:
“I have seen the double faces of people including myself. Schools do not promote a culture of harmony or respect for each other’s religion and culture. Someone talked about the curriculum. It is true that it teaches that non-Muslims are Kafirs and to kill them is indeed a virtuous deed. The children who are learning this will learn to hate non-Muslims. The media should play its role in this regard. Why should we not celebrate Christmas together! Of course we can and we should!”
Elizabeth Nadeem:
“In 1972, the government nationalized all mission schools. Yet, Christians managed to get education somehow. There are Christian girls who have to work as domestic workers after completing their 10th or 12th grades. A Christian name becomes a hindrance in getting jobs. Those who are in some position to help do not make any effort to help the deprived of their own community. I hope that we will not only talk, but will try for implementation of findings of this seminar”.
Bushra Nadeem:
“I faced a very strange attitude at a local government school. My son was in class 5. One day his teacher called him and told him to leave the school as now he was grown up and could now sweep the streets. My son wants to study; but he is not allowed to sit and study with other children. The teacher and even the principal are of the same opinion. Yes, we are sweepers by profession but our children should be given an opportunity to grow in the society. It is not necessary that our children should also become sweepers. Something should be done to remedy this situation”.
Haroon Nasir:
“There is a general understanding that Christians are honest. They are committed and talented as well. However, reality is very bitter. Christians are not promoted according to their performance. Very often they are neglected, despite their talents and honesty. A majority of Christian youth are jobless. Furthermore, Christians are labeled as janitors. However, in a recent survey of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, it was disclosed that 73% sweepers working in cantonment boards, municipal corporations and capital development authority are Muslims. This is just a perception that Christians are sweepers”.
James Gill:
“We want to educate our children. We kept a plot for a school in our colony. We planned to open one dispensary and a sewing Centre. One doctor came to our colony twice a week but we did not have a proper place for him to examine patients. The Police warned us that if a school is opened here, they will burn it”.
Fr. Archie D’Souza:
“Our cultures depict a picture of God as the Powerful. Poverty is confused with piety. Jesus never talked about poverty. He spoke about poverty of spirit. It is our responsibility to help our people to get out of poverty so that they could live like the rest of humanity. Another thing is authority, which looks like the ‘gun’, be it the Taliban, terrorists or motorcyclists of Karachi. They think authority is in the gun; so if they have a gun they have authority”.
Rukman Singh:
“What is culture? Birth, marriage and burial are the elements of culture. In my area, to be poor is a crime, and to be beautiful is another crime. If one kidnaps a beautiful non-Muslim girl, later it is declared that she has embraced Islam and that girl is not returned to her family. I wonder how the higher authorities can believe this. How can we bring the girl back? On the other hand, if a Muslim girl marries a Hindu, or Christian man then it is considered valid to kill the man or his whole family. In Friday prayers, the Khutba is always against the minorities. How could this be controlled? How can we move forward for dialogue?”
Angelina:
“It is true that girls from the minority are kidnapped, raped and then someone marries them. Sometimes they are kept without legal marriage. If such things happen to a Muslim woman, is their community going to accept it? It is also true that Friday sermons harm the sentiments of other religions. Moreover, if in reaction a Christian utters any word against Islam then s/he is arrested under Article 295C for blasphemy. My question is: why is the blasphemy law 295C not implemented against the one who provokes religious sentiments?”
Ateeque Ahmed Swati:
“Our friend has talked about education and curriculum. It is true that the government has included religion in the curriculum; but one religion only: Islam. I believe that religion should not be included in the syllabus. All the religions teach more or less the same social values. Citing the example of Hindu caste system, we should also see that in our culture we also have a veiled caste system. In a family, the least intelligent son is sent to the madrasah. There he becomes a maulvi and is expected to lead others”.
Iqbal Bali:
“Christianity and Islam are the religions of invaders. Islam is rooted in the Arab culture and elements of Arab tribal culture are present in Islam. Judeo-Christians have also been under this influence. Jihad is one of the main pillars of Islam. We only know what is preached and do not research about it. I would like to emphasize that we should change our education system so that we could draw ourselves close to reality. Otherwise, we the minorities will remain second-class citizens. We must demand our rights as citizens of Pakistan without any discrimination on the basis of creed or religion”.
Ms. Mangla Sharma:
“Here we close our first session, I am thankful to you all that despite some delay we are well in time. Regarding our discussion, I am glad that all of you shared the dialogue with equal responsibility. I hope that everyone present here must have enjoyed the discussion, which was very clear, open and meaningful. I believe that the organizers must take the opportunity to take up our suggestions to the concerned authorities so that positive steps could be taken as a result of our discussion”.
Session II:Legal & Constitutional Aspects
Moderator: Mr. M. Parkash
Haroon Nasir:
“Ladies and Gentlemen: it was good to hear you all talk about socio-cultural and economic realities. Now we will discuss whether the law and the Constitution provide support to citizens, or whether there is just silence. Or if it is vocal, then which group is it supporting? For this session, I would like to request Mr. M. Parkash to moderate the session and lead a healthy discussion. Mr. Parkash is a practicing lawyer and an active human rights activist. He belongs to the Hindu community and is working for Christians and Hindus in his area. He is also the Chairperson of Human Rights Commission, Sindh. I request M. Parakash to come forward to moderate this session”.
M. Parakash:
“The credit goes to the Christian Study Centre for providing such forums for us. Today many friends have come from different regions, religions and communities of Pakistan. It would have been better if some MPAs and MNAs were invited in this seminar so that they could also know what were the real problems people faced in daily life. We have been talking about human rights. We had three Constitutions in Pakistan, 1958, 1962 and 1973. The 1973 Constitution is present in its distorted form. As far as legal rights are concerned, everywhere there is violence and violation of rights”.
“We are always assured that the rights of minority and majority are being taken care of. But in reality, it is not so. We must discuss how the law is helping the ruling class and the religious majority of this country. The labour and religious minorities of this country are not getting any representation in local bodies. Please talk about personal laws, Shari’at Law, and the Hadood Ordinance. What do you want and what sort of change is required? We must let our MNAs and MPAs know the needs of the people”.
Rufin Wilson:
“The Constitution of Pakistan was written with an understanding to let the citizens have some rules and regulations in order to live a peaceful life. It is our misfortune that our first Constitution was a failure. Martial Law was imposed, and the army took over after abrogating the first Constitution. They took power from the people’ representatives and thereby the rights of the people were crushed”.
“The present Constitution of Pakistan is a mixture. It is difficult to know if our Constitution presents democracy or dictatorship, or fascism. There are Shari’a Laws, and other laws as well, which contradict each other. They talk about democracy and claim that it is a parliamentarian system. Then the prime minister should be in power, but president is enjoying all the power. The people must elect the president. But in our case, president is sitting in uniform. What do we want to make of this country? Army has established its petrol pumps, drug stores, school, hospitals, shoe stores, and nurseries. It gives Kalshinkovs and batons to people so that they fight among themselves. Why has it happened like this? As Mr. Ateeq said, the violation of laws is due to economic inequalities”.
George Clement:
“I will second what Rufin Wilson said. When we talk about the Pakistani Constitution, it is entirely different from the constitutions of other countries. First of all the Constitution is for all citizens, but our Constitution speaks for one religion and a single sect only. The others have been included with separate clauses and sections. At the time of implementation, it becomes the matter of Christian and Muslim, minority and majority. The head of the State or prime minister of the country would be a Muslim. From the very beginning, one group is made powerful. The Constitution of the country is for all the citizens, and not for one sect. Constitution has become a means of providing privileges. Our Constitution has nothing to offer to the poor and the oppressed. Rather it supports every oppressor because it is the document which can be amended whenever needed”.
“Our Constitution is divided on the basis of religions and different groups living in the country. Previously, there was only one institution, Judiciary, for passing judgments; but now three more bodies have been added to the list: Federal Shari’a Court, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Muhtasib (Ombudsman). Let us then look at some of the legislation: Hadood Ordinances, law of witness, blasphemy law, are some of the laws, which are prejudiced against the poor class, women and religious minorities. These laws help the violators of human rights but make the life of the common man miserable”.
Waseem Wagha:
“At Aurat Foundation, we are working to repeal the Hadood Ordinances, honour killings, and some other discriminatory laws. I don’t know whether we will be able to repeal Hadood Ordinance or not. But one good thing that we are doing is to provide a lot of awareness to common citizens who have no source of education. I will say three things in this context. First, the concept of right is given through the law. Laws were introduced with the establishment of the State. The institutions, which should support the law and the oppressed, became violators. Second, it is difficult to understand the language of law. Third, there are good laws. If these are implemented I am sure that there will not be any Hadood case or honour killing case”.
“The solution to this problem is the parallel judiciary system of Panachayat based on the local customs and traditions. This is very strong in India. In Karnataka, people felt that due to a factory the drinking water level had gone down. The punchayat decided that the factory should be closed. The court upheld their decision, and the factory was closed. It was only because the court knew that the sarpanchas were the local people and they knew what was needed there”.
James:
“I would like to say that whenever such effective programs are organized our political leaders should be invited so that they must learn the realities of life. Here we have learned a lot about our situation. Therefore, this opportunity should be given to them as well, so that they may change their approach”.
Ayub(Insert Affiliation):
“Criticism is not the solution to our problems. More Muslims live in India than Pakistan. We studied that Pakistan was created on the basis of the Two Nation Theory. After 57 years of independence people are not enjoying living in an Islamic country. These so-called Islamic laws have penetrated the peaceful lives of innocent citizens, especially women and minorities”.
“Why cannot a Christian become a prime minister? It is same with Muslims in UK and the US where they demand equal rights. The main question is, whether education and the economy are improved. If ordinary people get quality education then definitely such problems would disappear. I believe there are two groups: good and bad people. If there is a good Christian then Muslims should definitely choose him and send him to the assembly as their representative. But in reality, if a Muslim contests against a better Christian, then every Muslim will vote for the Syed who may neither have a moral character nor any values. What will he do there? Therefore, we must stress on quality education and improvement of economy”.
Romana Bashir:
“I feel that in our country the lawmakers are the lawbreakers. The Constitution says that every citizen is equal, but the one who has the authority can trap ordinary people with the help of law. I would like to share a joke with you. Once an Afghan cabinet delegation visited Pakistan. There was a minister for Railways in the list. Our foreign office objected that Afghanistan did not have railways; how come they had a minister for it. They replied: you also have a minister for law; did we ever object?”
Fr. Archie D’Souza:
“We need to study history thoroughly. Very often we hear about umma, but we never explore what umma means. If we look at its origin, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had Jews, Christians with him, which he called ummat-e-Nabi. Nowadays there is no clear interpretation of what is the place of minorities in an Islamic state. This is a very important issue for a country, where such discrimination takes place. The Constitution does identify religious minorities as citizens of Pakistan, but it is not implemented”.
Aneeqa:
“I agree that the Constitution is not implemented. Actually we do not know what is the Constitution? It has become a joke for us. First of all, instead of writing policies, our Constitution addresses individuals. Furthermore, Pakistan is an Islamic State. Then our claim that minorities are given equal rights is misleading. We need to remove such flaws in order to prove that we are also a sensible nation”.
Abdul Khalique Junejo:
“Some questions have disturbed me a lot, A friend complained that non-Muslims are called kafirs, another said why 25th December is celebrated as Quid’s birthday and not as Christmas. You are right in your statement. We demand that the state should be restructured. Only then all these ambiguities can be removed. When Europe found that relations between the state and religion are problematic, they separated the two. However, we are still trying our best to keep the two together”.
“The Army is interrupting every time democracy seems to be taking roots. Once Gen. Zia-ul-Haq said that he did not want to bring democracy in Pakistan because it was a Western concept. Mulana Shah Ahmad Noorani retorted: Then we should also return the aeroplanes and tanks because these too are based on Western technology. Even your dress is from the West? For a lesser good, we override the greater good. The foundation stone for the creation of Pakistan is the Lahore Resolution of March 23, 1940, not the Objectives resolution of 1949. The Constitution of Pakistan should be based on the Lahore resolution 1940”.
“We see negative legislations passed in assemblies in the name of Islam. We simply used the name of Islam and violated the rights of common citizens. Along with the Supreme Court, we have created a Federal Shariat court in name of Islam. We can assess their performance by one example. Take the example of Zina (adultery), which requires at least four male witnesses or eight female witnesses. Most of the time women are punished because they could not produce four witnesses in their favour. But one asks if four pious people were witnessing the act, then why did they not save the woman during that act? However, the Shari’a bench did not accept this argument and declared that such arguments were only to legalize prostitution”.
“The majority of Pakistanis want this country to be a secular state. The 1970 elections were held on a secular agenda and 99% people voted for those parties whose agenda was not religious. But now people take refuge in religion to extend their political power, rule, and authority. There is a need for restructuring the state and this will happen only with political struggle”.
Arshad Rizvi:
“Some days back, in a seminar Naeem-ul-Haq as representative of the NRB was asked a question regarding funds of councilors. He clearly said that authority was given to the Nazims to distribute the funds. But the practice tells us that funds are only released to the favourite councilors and there are no funds for those opposing the government. So distribution of funds is not fair”.
Ms. Mangla Sharma:
“Since I belong to the local government, therefore I will talk about it. You are aware that 33% representation has been given to women. However, I would like to draw your attention towards the situation under which women councilors are living. We are not respected in sessions. We really have to struggle for our rights. Female councilors are not getting any funds at all. Same is the condition of councilors from the minority community. Our point is that women and minority representatives should be given equal rights and facilities”.
