Religious minorities to be represented in Pakistan senate

(Aug. 31, 2011) In a historic move, religious minorities will be represented in the Pakistani Senate. This will be done with the 18^th Constitutionl Amendment. Under this Amendment the Pakistani senate will have four seats reserved for minorities – one each from the provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The new law is set to come into effect as early as the next Senate elections scheduled for March 2012. Non-Muslims have not sat in the upper house for the past 38 years, but things will change, thanks to the 18th Amendment of the constitution, pushed by the country’s minorities and backed by wide sectors of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). Until now, only Muslim scholars, women and technocrats had reserved seats. Anjum James Paul, a Christian teacher and president of the Pakistan Minorities Teachers' Association (PMTA), wrote to President Asif Ali Zardari to express his gratitude for the law. In his letter, the activist mentioned what he termed “our martyrs”, Benazir Bhutto,,former prime minister and Zardari’s wife who was slain in 2007, and Shahbaz Bhatti, the Catholic Minorities Minister, who was killed for urging reform to the blasphemy law. He said both, always supported the cause of marginalised communities in Pakistan and gave their lives for the cause.
In concluding, the letter made an additional humble request on behalf of minorities, namely “to increase the number of reserved seats in the National Assembly of Pakistan” and “abolish all discriminatory articles and laws so that all Pakistanis may enjoy equal rights” and thus contribute to the glory of the nation.