Daily Times

From time to time, though feeble but voices do come from different corners of the country about the fair representation of minorities in the mainstream political system of Pakistan. The minorities’ electoral system does not match the democratic nature of the constitution of Pakistan. After several experiences from joint to separate electorate system, the “nomination of minorities” system was introduced in 2002 by the then military ruler, General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf. Since the last one and a half decade, Pakistani minorities are struggling to get their democratic right to elect their own representatives who could be their real voice in the provincial as well as the national parliament.

A few days ago, I saw a small news item about the Pakistan Christian Movement (PCM), in which the leader of the party, Riaz Anjum, was sharing his views on the minorities’ electoral system. Behind him was the banner with a slogan, Election, not Selection. Although the phrase was not new but as a slogan it was fascinating. The present cumulative effects of the Panama leaks might be leading the nation towards general elections, although the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s preponderant influence would resist even the most optimum pressure. However, the opposition parties’ exigent demands could change the political scenario after Ramadan. In these circumstances, the demand of the PCM is timely and relevant.

The constitution of Pakistan in its preamble says, “Wherein adequate provision shall be made for the minorities freely to profess and practise their religions and develop their cultures… Wherein adequate provision shall be made to safeguard the legitimate interests of minorities.” According to the article 51, “There shall be three hundred and forty-two seats for members of the National Assembly, including seats reserved for women and non-Muslims. Members to the seats reserved for non-Muslims shall be elected in accordance with the law through proportional representation system of political parties’ lists of candidates on the basis of total number of general seats won by each political party in the National Assembly.”

This present legislation about minorities’ elections is confusing; because of their proportional representation, mostly many minorities’ political leaders remain incapacitated to represent their homologous communities in parliament. Because of the ineffective system of nomination, the social or political background is not important; it is the personal relationship with the leadership of the majority party that ensures a person’s entry into parliament. This is the reason that it is only after announcements by the election commission that the minority communities get to know who the leaders are that are going to represent them in assemblies. Many clever and skilled individuals with the gift of savoir-faire get an easy chance to obtain five-year “gate passes” of the parliament houses.

A Christian political leader Professor Salamat Akhtar says, “The representation from legal bodies to the National Assemblies was not a gift of any ruler of Pakistan. The Christians bought those seats with their blood but, unfortunately, the political parties of Pakistan are selling these seats to wealthy people belonging to minorities’ communities for lakhs of rupees.” Paul Bhatti, a former minister for minorities and religious harmony says, “There is a very weak link between those who occupy those seats, and those who are active members of the community and have real roots among the minorities in this country.”

However, the so-called selected members because of their unswerving loyalties to their master parties stick to their positions without considering their real roles of working for the people they represent. This is the reason why some only development work, small roads and sewerage pipelines are attached to their names; otherwise, mostly, they do not support their communities in their real issues: the issues of discrimination and persecution, of outdated curriculum that teaches hate in schools against ethnic minorities, of repealing or amending the blasphemy laws frequently used against the marginalised sections of minorities. And of course the issue of legislation for a fair electoral system.

After the partition, the participation of minorities was around 20 percent, which is now decreased to a paltry three percent. Right after the partition, discrimination against minorities started, and for the last seven decades, minorities have faced discrimination, which led to a massive exodus from the country. In 1972, all missionary institutions were nationalised, and broken-hearted many well-off Christians left their homeland and never returned. In 1985, the inclusion of strict clauses in the blasphemy laws by General Zia-ul-Haq made life for minorities even more difficult. Time and again, lynching, torching and bombing of minorities and their properties and worship places have left them vulnerable and unsafe in their own homeland.

The abduction of minority women and forced conversions to Islam is commonplace. The five-percent quota rule of employment is hardly observed; scholarships for minorities are only seen in government files; and political participation of minorities in local bodies has been made almost impossible by the ordinances of the Sindh and Punjab governments.

There are hundreds of debatable issues, the solution of which could be ensured with proper political participation of minorities in the mainstream politics. The urgency of matter demands the attention of the leadership of majority’s political parties. Through amendments to the constitution, minorities should be given the right to elect their own representatives who could speak for their rights in the assemblies. They should be given the double vote right where they could not only elect their own members but also vote for the general candidate of their respective constituency. As per the constitutional provision, the whole country is deemed the constituency for minorities. There should also be media backing so that minority members could appear for debates and talk about their manifestos; that would give the minorities a chance to make rightful choices for their representation.

The Constitution of Pakistan ensures safeguarding the legitimate interests of minorities, but the article 51 of the 18th amendment of the constitution does not support the idea of safeguarding minorities’ interests. It is about time the majority political parties worked to erase this contradiction and allowed minorities to elect their own representatives. Until that happens, minorities need to continue their struggle for election, not selection.

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