ISLAMABAD: Disposing of a suo-motu notice pertaining to the preservation of minorities’ rights in Pakistan, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said that the government should take special steps to take care of minorities.
A three-member SC bench, comprising Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Ijazul Ahsan directed the federal and the provincial governments to give special considerations to the people belonging to the minority faiths, enabling them to never feel sense of insecurity or deprivation.
Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan observed that the policy makers should also never ignore the rights of minorities while making policies and they should be considered and treated like the ‘special children’.
He said every citizen belonging to minority faith should feel as if he was being given special consideration as compared to an ordinary citizen in the country.
Hinting about the recently ended Faizabad sit-in by a religious group that kept the citizens of twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi as well as other parts of the country paralyzsd for over 20 days, Justice Dost Muhammad Khan remarked that ‘it seemed as if we have become a minority, despite being the majority, adding that a minority could hold us hostage, whenever it wished to do so.
The legal representatives of all the provinces informed the court that all the worship places of the minorities’ communities were secured and provided adequate security while implementing the court’s earlier orders.
The court was informed that the landmark Hind Marriage Act was also passed by the parliament this year. Besides, the government was refurbishing the Hindu places of worship. It was apprised that a Hindu temple situated in Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was properly preserved and renovated.
Published in Daily Times, December 6th 2017.
