Minorities’ Persistent Yearning as Elections Approach

Naeem Ahmad

Faisalabad: Amidst the vibrant ambiance of the approaching general elections, Ashraf Masih, a 50-year-old inhabitant of Isa Nagari in Jaranwala Tehsil, Faisalabad, is working hard to reconstruct his life.

His house, along with other houses and churches in the Christian community, was set on fire amid protests triggered by alleged blasphemy incident on August 16, 2023.

Having evacuated his family before the unrest, Ashraf’s life was spared, but the torched house resulted in the loss of their assets.

Despite a government grant, the reconstruction remains incomplete, and they still rely on others for support.

The district administration reports that 19 churches and 86 houses were set on fire, with claims of rehabilitation efforts and compensation distribution.

However, verification requests under the Right to Information Act (RTI) remain unanswered, raising concerns.

In the aftermath, 22 FIRs were filed against more than 1,000 suspects, but five months later, no convictions or departmental actions have been taken.

Ashraf laments that local politicians and Christian leaders issued mere statements and posed for photos, showing a lack of substantive action.

Data from the Election Commission of Pakistan indicates that there are more than 3.9 million voters within the religious minority communities. Out of this population, 2,217,141 voters are in Sindh, 1,641,835 in Punjab, 46,115 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and 51,245 non-Muslim voters are situated in Balochistan.

However, despite these numbers, achieving effective representation for religious minorities continues to be challenging.

Main Be Pakistan Hoon

To tackle this issue, the Minority Forum Pakistan launched the “Main Be Pakistan Hoon” campaign, aiming to boost minority involvement and bring attention to their concerns.

According to Peter Jacob, executive director of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), this nationwide campaign is apparently talking about the rights of religious minorities, but in reality, it is an effort to create an enlightened Pakistan that is safe and free from hatred for all citizens.

Jacob mentioned that a key emphasis in this campaign revolves around incorporating Quaid-i-Azam’s August 11, 1947, speech into the national curriculum and refraining from imposing the teachings of the majority religion on minority students, as outlined in Article 22A of the Constitution.

CSJ Jacob also said the campaign also advocates for legislative measures to prevent child marriage and forced conversion, along with the establishment of federal and provincial commissions with authority to address issues concerning minorities.

“Under this campaign, awareness banners are being put up in public places in cities and villages across the country, issues facing minorities are being encouraged to be discussed in election rallies, and people are being motivated to post their opinionated videos on social media,” he added.

Jacob further said that if voters belonging to religious minorities actively participate in the election, the elected representatives will also show seriousness in fulfilling their demands.

Peter Jacob says that the “one person, one vote” requirement for religious minorities since the end of a separate electoral system is being met, and he prefers a joint electoral system.

However, he said that during the last 20 years, the democratic system in Pakistan as a whole has deteriorated instead of improving, so it is unfair to analyse the improvement in the representation of religious minorities separately.

“Many religious minorities still want to stand out based on religious identity, which is not a good strategy. Instead, the election of candidates for specific seats at the party level is based on their position in the assembly, and the party can help improve,” he suggested.

He said that the demand for double votes will increase the inter-religious divide, while the formation of separate constituencies will also be a problem considering the scattered population of minorities.

“Political parties should choose representatives on the reserved seats for religious minorities based on merit so that they can be better represented in the legislative bodies,” the CSJ head added.

He further said that the joint electorate requires political parties to issue tickets to non-Muslim candidates even on general seats to ensure their inclusion in the national mainstream.

“In Sindh, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had given tickets to non-Muslim candidates for general seats in some constituencies, and three of them were successful. This time in Punjab too, the Party has given tickets to a Christian candidate,” he informed.

Peter Jacob said that other political parties should also follow the PPP in this matter so that discrimination based on religion can be reduced in society.

It should be noted that the constitution of Pakistan has guaranteed the inclusion of minorities in politics by allocating specific seats for ethnic minorities in the Senate, National Assembly, and the four provincial assemblies.

Constitutional Gaps Remain

Under Article 51(4) of the Constitution, 10 seats are reserved for minorities in the National Assembly, while under Article 106, nine seats are reserved for religious minorities in the Sindh Assembly, eight in the Punjab Assembly, four in the KP, and three in the Balochistan Assembly.

Apart from this, Section 48 of the Election Act, 2017 has directed the relevant institutions to take special measures for the registration of non-Muslims to include religious minorities in the mainstream.

Similarly, Section 104 asks political parties to submit a priority list of non-Muslim candidates along with their nomination papers and also provides detailed procedures for filling specific seats.

However, most political parties do not have a clear set procedure for nominations to specific seats.

This is the reason why the priority lists of non-Muslim candidates submitted by the political parties to the Election Commission are based on the preference of the leadership of the political parties rather than the performance of candidates.

Despite constitutional provisions for minority representation, loopholes persist.

The Election Act’s amendments show a lack of focus on improving minority inclusion, exacerbating the sense of political isolation.

The Lucknow Declaration

It should be noted that before the establishment of Pakistan in 1916, during British rule, on the demand of the Muslim political leadership, under the Lucknow Declaration, the method of separate elections for Muslims was introduced for the first time in the subcontinent.

Under this system, 30 percent of seats were reserved for Muslims in the centre, 50 percent in Punjab, and 40 percent in Bengal.

However, 10 non-Muslim representatives included in the members of the first Constituent Assembly formed after the establishment of Pakistan supported the adoption of a mixed election method for the representation of religious minorities.

Later, in addition to the first constitution made in 1956 and the second one made in 1962, in the unified constitution made in 1973, the method of the joint electorate was determined for religious minorities, while in 1970 it was based on “one man, one vote.” In the first general elections, religious minorities participated in the election under a joint electorate.

After that, in 1977, along with a joint electorate, six seats in the National Assembly were also allocated for religious minorities.

During Dictatorship

During the dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq, at the time of non-party elections in 1985, this system was abolished and a system of separate electorate was introduced for religious minorities, which continued until the general elections of 1997.

Later, in 2002, during the dictatorship of General Musharraf, the system of separate electorate was abolished and the system of mixed elections and reserved seats was introduced, which is still ongoing.

Although this system ensures the presence of non-Muslim members in the elected houses, it also ensures that the majority party does not have a monopoly on the representation of non-Muslims.

However, many non-Muslim voters are not satisfied with the performance of non-Muslim representatives elected to reserved seats and believe that the seats reserved for religious minorities are being taken advantage of by non-Muslim elites.

Thus, the problem of effective representation of religious minorities in legislative assemblies still revolves around the system of selection of minority representatives.

Historical shifts in election methods, from separate to joint electorates and later reserved seats, have not entirely addressed the core issue of effective representation.

The Way Forward

Tahir Mehdi, a senior journalist and election observer, suggests adopting India’s model of political representation for marginalised classes, providing equal opportunities without dividing based on religion.

Atif Jameel Advocate, a human rights lawyer, calls for comprehensive electoral and constitutional reforms.

He stresses that the separation of state and religion is essential for genuine minority representation, proposing temporary joint constituencies to elect minority members and reduce religious extremism.

As Pakistan approaches another crucial electoral milestone, the persistent desire for inclusive politics remains palpable among religious minorities.

Genuine representation, constitutional reforms, and the imperative separation of state and religion are indispensable elements for nurturing democracy and fostering socio-religious harmony in the nation.

Naeem Ahmed, an investigative journalist, excels in spotlighting societal issues and inequalities. His writings particularly emphasize advocating for the rights of marginalized communities. He tweets @naeemahmad876.

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