Minorities should be included in policymaking process: NCHR

Peshawar, Pakistan: According to the reports, National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) have felt the need of minority members in the meeting organise to discuss the policy for minorities.

The meeting was arranged by NCHR Regional Office Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, wherein representatives of different groups shared their views about the rights of minorities and the significance of interfaith harmony.

Giving suggestions for effective measures to protect the rights of minority groups, the speakers asked for including the representatives of non-Muslims in the policymaking bodies.

They demanded the government to review the national syllabus as it also gave ‘rise’ to religious extremism, and allow the minorities to contest elections on general seats as nominees of the political parties to play an effective role in the legislative process.

NCHR member Tariq Javaid, its minority member Manzoor Masih, All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement president Haroon Sarabdial, Peshawar’s chief Khateeb Maulana Tayyab Qureshi, Church of Pakistan Bishop Humphery Sarfaraz Peter, MPA Wilson Wazir and NCHR chairperson Rabia Javeria were the keynote speakers.

They condemned all types of religious extremism and stressed the need for taking pragmatic and immediate steps to control fanaticism.

They referred to an incident that occurred recently in Sialkot wherein a Sri Lankan citizen lost life, saying such happenings had brought a bad name to the country.

The NCHR representatives said the Sialkot incident had been condemned widely by the government and people of all sects.

They said the government was truly following the tenets of Riyasat-i-Madina to ensure proper protection to the rights of non-Muslims and their properties in the country.