Soft Reforms Pave the Way for Lasting Political Change

News Desk

Lahore: Rigid revolutions weaken institutions and political systems in countries, therefore, soft revolution through reforms can be instrumental in strengthening accountability, institutions, and democracy.

CSJ Executive Director, Peter Jacob, shared these views during a seminar held in Lahore on Thursday. The event, themed “Effective Participation of Minorities in Elections,” was organized by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) and Minority Forum Pakistan.

Peter Jacob said that public representatives associated with political parties require public opinion and support to introduce legislation regarding any matter concerning human rights.

The public’s mindset and style of politics should also be improved so that the public can keep an eye on the progress of political representatives and convince them to take steps to address the human rights challenges, the rights activist added.

Habqooq Gill, a representative of PTI, expressed his commitment to take meaningful actions to strengthen affirmative measures, and address the human rights challenges faced by minorities.

Tariq Javaid, a leader of PML-N, said that the concerns of minorities and other marginalized groups are often overlooked by political parties, which results in non-consideration of progressive bills. The legislative bodies won’t be able to effectively address human rights challenges unless the minority perspectives are paid heed to.

A representative of JI, Ziauddin Ansari, stated that pledges in election manifestos of political parties remain unfilled, which makes the issues remain unaddressed. Consistent efforts are required to change the priorities of political parties to address the deprivation and marginalization of communities, and promote democratic culture.

Nasir William stated that political parties have failed to take effective actions to fulfill the pledges they make before elections.

Tayyaba Rafiq presented a set of five-point demands regarding minority rights, which were endorsed by participants, including political workers and representatives of civil society groups.

The demands are as follows:

Strengthening the law to eradicate child marriage
Introducing legislation to criminalize forced religious conversion
Establishing a committee to implement the Jillani Judgment issued on June 19, 2014
Removing religious content from the curriculum and non-religious text books to align with Article 22 (1) of the Constitution of Pakistan
Establishing a statutory minorities rights commission

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