Pak minority voters increase by 30% but are still living on the edge
ISLAMABAD: The number of voters from Pakistan’ s religious minorities has risen from 2.7 million in the 2013 polls to 3.63 million at present, an increase of 30%, but very little has changed for these marginalised communities on the ground.
Political commentator Yasir Latif noted that nobody is discussing the continued sidelining of these minorities in the political system even though they play an important role in deciding the outcome in numerous constituencies across the country.
Their issues continue to be ignored although, since the resumption of the joint electorate system, issues such as registration of Hindu marriages have been addressed.
Many minority leaders say the most damage was done by the system of separate electorates, which excluded their communities from mainstream politics.
Initially, this was resolved through in-house election of nonMuslim parliamentarians and legislators. Then military ruler Zia-ul-Haq introduced separate electorates – this meant nonMuslims could elect up to 10 members through direct elections but could not vote in general constituencies or Muslim constituencies.
After protests by minority representatives, the joint electorate was re-introduced by Pervez Musharraf’s regime. Reserved seats for non-Muslims are now distributed among political parties in proportion to the number of constituencies won by them.
But Latif argued both these systems failed to provide effective representation and political influence.
As things stand, Hindu voters continue to maintain their majority among minorities. Christians form the second largest group but both communities have been increasingly targeted by religious and extremist groups while mainstream politicians looked the other way.
The Ahmadi community, declared non-Muslims in the 1970s, faces the biggest quandary. They refuse to stand or vote as non-Muslims, and thus go unrepresented in Parliament.
Meanwhile, Britain’s annual human rights report for 2017 highlighted a catalogue of concerns in Pakistan, mainly relating to Hindus, Sikhs and other minorities continuing to suffer persecution and discrimination.
There were recurrent reports during 2017 of forced conversions and forced marriages of Hindu and Christian women.