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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Pakistan Christians Demand Separate Elections |
| 2004-06-12 |
| From the Pakistan Christian Post The incidents of persecution of Christian community have escalated after imposition of joint elections by government of Pakistan since 2002. The priests have been gunned downed, Pastors have been brutally murdered, Christian women have been raped, elders have been harassed, churches have been desecrated, worshipers have been martyred, hospitals and schools have been attacked but no motion have been presented in National Assembly of Pakistan by the adopted Christian representatives on reserved seats by the Muslim political parties under joint election system. ... The construction of roads, streets walks, drainage system and electric facilities changed the shape of Christian slum areas from 1985 to 2000 during practice of separate elections in Pakistan. The Christian youth enjoyed equal rights to secure jobs of 16 grades in government and semi government establishments on Christian representative quota of jobs and Christian students got admissions in medical colleges, engineering colleges and other higher academic institutions. Moreover the Christians elected under separate elections read Holy Bible in House and offered prayers before expressing Christian issues to witness Lord Jesus among Muslim law makers in Pakistan. What Joint election has given us? Nothing! House of parliament is silent on Christian victimization now! The Christian parliamentarians in house selected by majority political parties have no courage to speak in house without permission of their Muslim party leaders! The Joint elections have prevailed complete silence in house, no development budget, no jobs and no seats in professional colleges! Letâs view the situation of General Christians in Pakistan! The Christians are 13% of total population of Pakistan. They are living under poverty line in rural areas working on agricultural lands of Muslim Land Lords and in urban areas as sanitary workers in municipal corporations. The Muslims majority hates to eat and drink with Christians and treats them as untouchables. The poor Christians have bitter experiences of voting against instructions of land lords during Joint elections from 1956 to 1985. The cattle of Christians were stopped to feed on fields of Muslim lands lords, grain sale was refused to Christian families to forced to starvation and social boycott was observed after elections as punishment on voting against influential Muslim feudal lords directives. The worst incident of rape and disrespect of women and Christians elders are also on record in rural and urban areas through out Pakistan after every election of Local Bodies and Parliament under joint elections. The general Christian has enjoyed Separate Elections since 1947, until abandoned in âConstitution of Pakistanâ of 1956. Therefore it remained an outstanding demand of Christians to revive Separate Elections system for minorities for decades until it was re-enforced on January 10, 1985 When we discuss election system for minorities in Pakistan we find practice of Joint elections and Separate elections from time to time after independence of Pakistan in 1947. Apart from these election procedures the dual voting system is also allowed for Kashmiri Muslims. To define the joint elections it means elections when Christians and other religious minorities vote for Muslim candidates in their respective constituencies of national assembly and provincial assemblies and Muslims political parties adopt and nominate Christians on reserved seats in parliament under Seventh Amendment of 2003 in Constitution of Islamic republic of Pakistan. The Separate elections are elections when minorities elect their representatives by their votes on reserved seats for them in parliament under Eighth Amendment in Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan of 1985. ... Therefore Muslim majority of Pakistan is fully aware of importance of Separate Electorate because they know its perfect system for due representation and to express prevailing situations of backward communities as they experienced in sub continent of India. They Pakistani Muslim governments are always reluctant to equip Christians of Pakistan with powerful weapon of separate elections in Pakistan because they have witnessed that Separate Elections enabled them in formation of Muslim state of Pakistan and illiterate and inexperienced leaders like Shahbaz Bhatti, Joseph Francis and others are misled and being used by Muslim leaders to snatch separate electorate. ... The Christians of Pakistan wish to submit that Joint Elections are not acceptable to them on any level and they strongly protest against implementations of joint elections and demand Dual Voting rights with Separate Electorate. The Christians condemn all provisions of Constitution of Pakistan declaring them second class citizen because they are son of soil and reserve equal rights in resources of Pakistan. The Christians challenge government to hold referendum on joint elections to know true voice of general Christians. |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |