Daily Times

For the last few years, the disadvantaged ethnic minorities were raising their voice for electoral reforms to elect their own representatives with direct vote but their hopes shattered with the passage of the Election Bill 2017 when once again, their demand was not taken into account, whereas, in the blink of an eye, some ultra fast legislation befitting the ruling party were added to the bill. Henceforth, the enactment of the election bill is another example of discriminatory legislation against ethnic minorities. Minorities’ imploration fell on deaf ears and the legislators disdained their unfeigned demand of direct election and not contested system of selection. The politically paralysed minorities are masking their discomposure with silence or feeble reaction through social media which indeed will not bear any result except the prevalence of self-pitying state. But how things could be reversed? For this, external succor might not work without undertaking to confront the internal liabilities. Grey areas within the minorities must be superseded with new colours of the fresh struggle. This could be done by identifying the bad sectors found within and for this, they will have to work against the conventional tools of struggle where different sections are muddling up for the common cause but not finding their expected results. The ever-increasing minorities’ persecution and cleansing are making their lives harder and harder. With 3 per cent paltry participation, generally the majority community might not recognise the unalloyed political demands of minorities, therefore, rigorous efforts are required to occupy a socio-political identification in the country.

Because of the present electoral system, the broken minorities have been further divided into small fragments of political allegiance

After the assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti, in 2011, Pakistani minorities failed to produce a visionary leadership which is a key to take off as a community or a nation. In his tenure as Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs, Bhatti took several steps towards the amelioration of ethnic minorities. For example, with his efforts, there was a time when Asif Ali Zardari, the then President of Pakistan resolved to free blasphemy convict Aasia Bibi by issuing a presidential pardon for her, but the decision was delayed for certain reasons and a few days later Shahbaz Bhatti was assassinated. Shahbaz Bhatti had started an inter-faith dialogue, hosting several events. He was equally popular among Christians and other ethnic minority groups living in the country. He was clear that religious freedom is only possible tolerance and that it could be achieved through interfaith dialogues. His leadership was not only admired in Pakistan but in many western countries including the Holy See. The exceptional leadership can determine the direction of the struggle for a nation. Unfortunately, after the sad incident of his brutal murder in the daylight in Islamabad, Pakistani minorities failed to find a leader. The Church leadership is always an important factor catering to the social as well the political needs of minorities. However, the denominational differences, albeit ceremonial still hinder the Church body to lead minorities. Especially in Christianity, the Church occupies a pivotal role in the holistic development of the congregation. In Pakistan, Catholic Church and Church of Pakistan (Protestant Church) are two mainline Churches. Unfortunately, the Church of Pakistan has indulged deeply in its local politics whereas the Catholic Church is still intact to dispense leadership or groom it, as the Catholic Bishop of Faisalabad Diocese, Dr John Joseph, once groomed Shahbaz Bhatti as a visionary leader to rescue minorities. Most of the times, the Church keeps itself aloof from practical politics, however, it can provide a platform to the youth belonging to minorities for exploring their talents. All over the world, the traditional church offers opportunities to all age groups of its congregation to take part in different activities. The Church in Pakistan has a capacity to groom thinkers, legislators, lawyers and technocrats who could lead the nation towards success. Filling the gap of the leadership should be a priority which is possible with the active participation of the Church leadership. Because of the present electoral system, the broken minorities have been further divided into small fragments of political allegiance. All the main political parties of the country reserve their very small portion of minorities’ voters and supporters who are as loyal to their political parties as Muslim voters related to their parties. Therefore, under 10 million minorities’ population was never in unity.

In certain constituencies of Sindh and Punjab, most voters belong to minority groups but any individual from their respective communities is not given the right to contest the election on general seats. They are bound to vote and elect Muslim representatives. To fight for their rights, the minorities of the country will have to fight against the injustices of the current system of selection of minority representatives. While the Election Bill 2017 was being discussed, these minority members did not demand election for minorities. On the other side, during this year, they are trying hard to continue their membership in the national as well provincial assemblies after 2018. Time and again, minorities have shared their concerns that they have no voice in the Parliament. In the coming years, the divide between selected members and their respective communities will be widened. It is, therefore, incumbent on these selected members to think about their communities. Indeed, over the years they have learned the norms of the national politics and should be able to contest the elections in the future too.

The unity and coordination at grass root level will bear fruits, and there is a need to make it a movement of minority rights. In the modern world, the best way is to launch a well knitted struggle maintaining the strength of presence, making the demands tangible and resilience to the cause.

The writer can be reached at Kaleem.dean@mail.com

Published in Daily Times, October 6^th 2017.