Pakistan: JUI-F MNA questions why minorities could not be PM or president

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“Discrimination against minorities has no end and incidents of violence are on the rise. We have drifted away from Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Pakistan.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Express Tribune
By Qamar Zaman | June 14, 2014

ISLAMABAD: Representation of minorities in the Parliament has been a topic of debate for quite some time and was discussed in the National Assembly session on Saturday.

The issue was raised by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) MNA Asiya Nasir, who questioned the constitutional provision that puts a bar on minorities from holding the office of prime minister as well as that of the president.

“Article 25 of the Constitution says all men and women are equal but at the same time non-Muslims cannot hold the office of prime minister as well as that of the president … this is not acceptable to us,” remarked the JUI-F MNA.

Addressing the National Assembly during the budget debate with empty treasury and opposition benches, Nasir said that she was the first minority member who was given the opportunity to speak on the budget but she was not interested as the government had presented a ‘traditional budget’.

She also stated that the budget was similar to previous budgets and did not have anything meaningful for minorities.

“Discrimination against minorities has no end and incidents of violence are on the rise. We have drifted away from Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Pakistan,” she added.

The JUI-F MNA also pointed out that the 18th constitutional amendment had devolved their ministry to a provincial level due to which there was no uniform policy; all four provinces have different policies regarding minorities.  She suggested that the government should have a ministry for the minorities at the Centre.
The JUI-F member also referred to another constitutional provision, Article 22 and said that non-Muslim students were being taught subjects against their will and the school curriculum had hate material against minorities included in it.

Commenting on laws related to blasphemy, Nasir remarked that “Christians are being targeted”.
“Number of blasphemy cases against Christians was increasing every day but not a single person, who had misused the laws [against minorities], had ever been punished,” she added.


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