leaders agree that they are late in taking up the issue and pressuring the government to allow non-Muslims leaders to be elected through direct voting.
Now they are asking political parties to award tickets for the chairman, vice-chairman and general councillor slots to their candidates in non-Muslim-populated areas.
Zahid Farooq, an MDI leader, told The News that all political parties, which generally vowed to address the issues of non-Muslim communities and recruited their members in their minority wings, should give tickets to non-Muslim leaders for the general seats.
“It will prove as to whether these parties are actually sincere with non-Muslims or not,” he added.
Pakistan Sikh Council chief Sardar Ramesh Singh said his community had boycotted the local government polls in protest against barring non-Muslims from their democratic right to elect their own candidates.
“But we support the MDI’s demand that political parties should give tickets to non-Muslim leaders in areas where their communities are in majority,” Singh added.
He also demanded that political parties that won at the union committee level should nominate a non-Muslim for the slot of the vice-chairperson in one of every six districts.
Non-Muslim areas
In Karachi, the areas where there are over 5,000 non-Muslim registered voters are in the Korangi and East districts.
Essa Nagri, Manzoor Colony, Akhtar Colony, Azam Basti, Pahar Ganj, Khuda Ki Basti, Ittehad Town, Michael Town, Christian Town, Mariam Colony, Saddar, Father Colony and Grax Colony (Mauripur) are Christian-populated neighbourhoods where there more than 5,000 voters of the community.
Hindu-populated neighbourhoods are mainly in the Old City including Narain Pura, Slaughter House and Soldier Bazaar.
In the last local government polls, the government had increased the seats for non-Muslim councillors from one to two in each neighbourhood that had up to a 10 percent non-Muslim population, decreasing the general councillor seats from four to three.
In the 2005 polls, there were three non-Muslim leaders elected naib nazims in non-Muslim populated areas. Anthony Naveed, a PPP leader, was elected naib nazim in Akhtar Colony where the nazim was a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate.
In Essa Nagri and Manzoor Colony, Gulzar Khushi and Anwar Sardar, both Christians, were elected naib nazims respectively.
Naveed said after becoming his area’s naib nazim, he had tried his best to address his community’s issues. “Like in the case of general polls, wealthy and influential non-Muslims have purchased tickets for these slots from political parties for the local bodies elections this time and aren’t bothered about the issues of non-Muslim communities and their neighbourhoods,” he added.
Political parties
Non-Muslim leaders have mainly demanded tickets from four key political parties - the Pakistan People’s Party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and the Jamaat-e-Islami – for the general seats.
In response, these political parties have promised that that they would nominate non-Muslim for these seats.
Senator Taj Haider, the PPP Sindh general secretary, said he had already directed the party’s district election boards to give tickets to non-Muslims as well as women for the general seats.
“Non-Muslim communities have remained associated with the PPP since its beginning and we will not only give them ticket for non-Muslim-populated areas but for Muslim-majority parts of the city as well,” he maintained.
Younas Sohan, the JI Karachi minority wing chief, said his party’s leadership had decided to give non-Muslims as many tickets as it could.
“The JI has always raised its voice for non-Muslims’ rights and will give them as many tickets as possible for the local government polls too.”
MQM central leader Aminul Haque said his party was liberal and progressive and had always raised its voice for non-Muslim communities.
“We will definitely give tickets to non-Muslim members for the slots of chairpersons, vice-chairpersons and general councilors.”