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_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Pakistan_______________
Christians join in national protest
Asking for an end to a separate electoral system
Since June 20, when General Atal Behari Musharraf became the country’s president, chief executive, and chief of the armed forces, Christians in Pakistan have been working to obtain civil and religious rights for minorities, including the end of a separate electoral system.
On June 24, an all-parties convention was held under the aegis of the National Commission for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan (NCJP). The representatives of 23 leading political parties were present to express support for the abolition of the separate electorate system. The system, introduced 21 years ago, bars citizens from voting for candidates outside their religious affiliations. This means that Christians and other religious minorities are only allowed to vote for a few reserved seats in federal and provincial assemblies and local bodies.
The convention was chaired by Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad, who encouraged the parties to put religious freedom on their list of priorities. Father Emmanuel Yousaf, administrator of the Archdiocese of Lahore and Director of the NCJP, thanked the political parties for their support to the cause of rights for all.
Imran Khan, head of the Tehrik-I-Insaf party said that the separate electorate system is a great injustice to all minorities: “No one has the right to discriminate against minorities because of their religious identity. To regain social and national integrity we should demand the restoration of the joint electorate system,” he said. Ijaz-ul-hassan of the Pakistan Peoples Party regarded the separate electorate system as a “negation of true democracy.” He stated that “a handful of fundamentalists have taken 140 million Pakistanis hostage.”
Back to Catholic World Report August/September 2001 Table of Contents