Pakistan: NCHR members seek inclusion of minorities in policymaking process

Peshawar [Pakistan], December 15 (ANI): National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) members have stressed the need for taking non-Muslims on board in the legislative and policymaking process during a consultative meeting on the rights of minority groups held here on Monday.
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, reported Dawn.
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, reported Dawn.
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, reported Dawn.
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, reported Dawn. (ANI)