Former minister for Minority Affairs, Giyanchand Essarani said that the rights of minority communities were fully protected in Pakistan and several measures have been taken for their welfare.
The minister, in his message on National Day of Minorities, said that the day was celebrated in Pakistan in the light of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnahs history-making speech on August 11, 1947 and his philosophy of equality.
He said that Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto granted equal rights to minority communities living in the country through the constitution of 1973 while government of the Pakistan People’s Party has always taken steps to provide all opportunities to the religious minorities for ensuring their role in the fullest in every field of life.
He said that Sindh Assembly was the first provincial legislature that passed the Minorities Bill in 2016 by majority vote while at the federal level National Minority Commission was established in 2020 to provide religious freedom to minorities and integrate them into the national mainstream. Terming minority communities’ role as vital for development of the country he also stressed on the need of further accelerating the efforts for religious harmony for the promotion of democratic traditions.
