The 2015 UK general elections have concluded without reports of any major unpleasantness. The Conservatives won 330 seats and Prime Minister (PM) David Cameron is going to stay in 10 Downing Street. On the other hand, without making any noise, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and UKIP have accepted their defeats and their leaders have offered to resign from their posts. This is something that can only be possible because of a strong faith in democracy and that is why we consider the UK’s brand of democracy to be the mother of democracy.
There are a total of 650 seats in the House of Commons. All major parties had put forward candidates who were members of ethnic and Asian minorities to encourage them to take part in UK politics and to ensure their real representation. Among others there were 156 Asian candidates from different political parties who were contesting these elections. Although these elections were called historic, let us look at them from the minorities’ perspective.
The number of minority seats in the House of Commons has grown from 27 to 42, while 13 belong to Muslims and, astoundingly, 10 of these are Pakistani. If we look at their backgrounds they all come from middle or lower middle class families. Had they been in Pakistan, none of them would qualify for a party ticket nor would they be elected. The number of Pakistani-British MPs continues to grow as seven of the previous members have been able to retain their seats while three new members have been elected. This number will be a strong presence and effective voice on behalf of Pakistani people in the House of Commons.
Pakistani Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif has not just congratulated David Cameron but all the Pakistani British MPs too and has expressed his hope that they will play their role to strengthen bilateral relations with the UK government. Pakistanis are emotionally attached to Pakistan and British-Pakistani MPs, whether they are in the European parliament, House of Commons or House of Lords, are at the forefront in protecting Pakistan’s interests, regardless of any government. These are of course joyous moments for Pakistanis and different people are happy for different reasons but the UK public and politicians feel no threat.
Mr Cameron has pledged to ensure that by the next election at least 20 percent of Tory candidates will be from ethnic backgrounds. Definitely, Pakistani candidates will also grow proportionately. The doors of equal opportunity are open for everyone. No one is discriminated against on the basis of their race or religion. Instead, laws exist to protect everyone. The brilliance of this country is that everyone can have an opinion and lead their life according to their creed and culture. UK society is very tolerant and sometimes Pakistanis take for granted its lenience. There are misled Pakistanis who still think the UK is a darul harb (house of war), promote their hate agenda and are sometimes arrested for their obnoxious activities but even then their rights are never violated. Even in the recent elections some people campaigned to boycott them and ran organised campaigns against their local non-Muslim MPs without any fear. We cannot even imagine such activities by non-Muslims in Pakistan.
Mr Cameron recently said that the Tories are a party of opportunity for people from all backgrounds and that anyone can make the most of their talent in this country. He also said that the Conservatives would be a party to produce the first black or Asian PM, and I have no doubt about what he is saying. We know how he promoted Saeeda Warsi to a senior minister’s position. She had lost the election in her own constituency and is still a member of the House of Lords. Now he has picked up Sajid Javid, the son of a bus driver, as his new business secretary. He is proud that the UK is a Christian country; even Saeeda Warsi and several other non-Christian leaders are proud and support Christian values, something I think is only possible in a Christian country. We do not allow this in any Muslim country, particularly in Pakistan, where religious minorities are constitutionally barred from becoming president or PM.
This is despite the minorities equally supporting Quaid-e-Azam in achieving Pakistan where even the Quaid made it clear in his presidential speech to the Constituent Assembly that religion would have nothing to do with the business of the state. He set an example by appointing Jogendra Nath Manda as the first minister of law and Muhammad Zafarullah Khan as the first foreign minister of Pakistan. Unfortunately, minorities are treated like second-class citizens, their churches, temples, towns and villages are under constant attack and, despite the PM’s statements and Supreme Court’s (SC’s) orders, the Pakistani government has failed to protect them. They seem to lack the will. There is no hope and that is why minorities are fleeing Pakistan.
Since we are talking about the UK’s elections let us talk about our election system. Earlier, on religious grounds, we ousted minorities from mainstream politics through the separate electorate system and even though the joint electorate system was restored by General Pervez Musharraf, there is still no chance that a minority member can be elected. This is a very unfortunate situation. Political parties need to face and overcome this challenge to strengthen democracy and to build a strong Pakistan. We will have to promote tolerance and nationalism, and implement the Quaid’s speech if we are really sincere about making Quaid’s Pakistan.
Just writing about minorities’ rights in our parties’ manifestos is not enough; we need to see them in practice. It is time to treat our minorities the way the UK treats its minorities. It is the responsibility of politicians to make Pakistan a tolerant society and treat every citizen equally. If we want to make Pakistan a peaceful and tolerant society, then it has to start at the political party level. Political parties will have to attract and encourage minorities. They need to condemn discrimination against them and include these policies in their manifestos.
Pakistani minorities are suffering in every walk of life, hatred against them continues to grow and there is a great need to restore their faith in the Pakistani political system. Rhetoric will not work anymore as we are under the spotlight and the international community has raised its concerns over our treatment of minorities.
If a Christian country like the UK can be accepting of minorities that have migrated there for a better future, then why are we so scared of our minorities, those who belong to our land?
The writer is a freelance columnist