Pakistan: Press Statement announcing Minority Rights March, Karachi, Aug 11, 2023

Minority Rights March

9th August, 2023

Press Statement

With unity and purpose, we have come together as a collective to initiate the first Minority Rights March. People who don’t belong to the majority religion are persecuted in Pakistan every day. We see increasing attacks of discrimination and violence against Christian and Hindu communities, we see young and underage girls from these faiths being forcibly converted and married - against their will. While people of the minority faiths face everyday violence and discrimination and the large looming threat of the misuse of the blasphemy law causes fear and insecurity for young and old.

On 11th August, National Minorities Day, we will march together for Equality.
We will march for change. We will march for an End to Forced Conversions.
We will march for an end to the misuse of the blasphemy law.
We will march for an end to systemic discrimination against anyone from minority faith.
We will march for protection and security for churches and temples.
We will march for freedom and security for all citizens of this country.
We invite you to join us no matter what your faith or belief, as we collectively ask for justice and for equality!

Our Demands:

1. End religiously motivated crimes including abductions, harassment, forced marriages and rape of women and girls of religious minorities! All Political parties should support and unanimously pass legislation to curb and penalize forced conversion of faith and set up parameters to determine legitimate conversion to any faith. Laws pertaining to minorities (federal & provincial) must be made after consultation with women leaders from the respective minority communities.

2. Protect communal and worship places of all religious minorities with adequate measures, including creation of minority protection cells and deployment of a specified policing force in all major towns and districts. A centralized/digital data system of worship places be created to safeguard communal properties against illegal occupation.

3. We demand concrete actions to stop the abuse and misuse of blasphemy laws, that would discourage people from taking the law into their own hands. Recurring false accusations of blasphemy — particularly against members of minority communities — and the resulting mob violence warrant effective mechanisms, such as the development of an efficient system to alert the authorities of any allegations, in order to protect the communities most at risk.

4. Repeal all discriminatory clauses and articles in the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, and amend Articles 41(2) and 91(3) to make the offices of the President and Prime Minister equally obtainable for all citizens on merit.

5. Increase reserved seats for minorities in Provincial Assemblies, National Assembly, Senate of Pakistan and District Councils and other elected bodies with special reserved seats for women from minority communities. Ensure representation of all communities including scheduled castes, Sikh and Parsi communities.

6. Restructure the job quota model for reserved seats of minorities in all provincial and federal agencies and create a special minority women quota as an affirmative action. Quota for religious minorities in law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

7. Eliminate all sort of hate speech and discriminatory material against religious minorities in the curriculum, make 11th August speech of Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah part of the curriculum at all educational levels in public and private institutions. Take strict action against hate speech in public and private places including educational institutions, social media and workplaces.

8. Implement the Supreme Court’s verdict (PLD 2014 SC 699) on minorities in it’s letter and spirit including creation of an independent and powerful National Commission for Minorities Rights.

9. We demand non-discrimination and protection of rights of all workers from minority communities including sanitary workers, medical staff, farmers, factory workers and domestic staff. We demand the provision of social security including housing rights, health rights and the right to not be evicted from their homes, lands and workplaces.

10. Strict action against discrimination faced by religious minorities during humanitarian crises. We demand proper data on minority communities at all administrative levels and inclusion in disaster preparedness mechanisms and policies.

11. Communal properties belonging to religious minorities under illegal encroachment or unlawfully sold/leased to third parties be given back to the concerned community. No place of worship of any minority shall be sold. Denationalize institutions which were founded by religious minorities and handover their management to their founding organizations/trusts. In the event that the parent organizations/trusts are defunct, set up a new management with at least 50% of personnel and the principal/director/administrator belonging to the religious community of the original trust/organization. Restore and renovate on state expense all communal properties of minorities holding the status of Heritage.