Safeguarding the rights of minorities

What has gladdened every citizen is the declaration of Nawaz Sharif that he’s the prime minister of not only Muslims but also of Hindus, Sikhs, Christians , Parsis and Bahais made the other day while inaugurating a water filtration plant at Katas Raj Temple.

He had delivered a similar message about two years ago in Karachi, which meant equal treatment to all citizens, even if they belong to any minority.

It seems the third-time prime minister has refreshed his knowledge about the life and struggle of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Australians appreciated February 1948 broadcast talk of Jinnah when he said: “We follow the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), we’re members of the brotherhood of Islam in which we all are equal in right, dignity and self-respect, and, consequently, we’ve a deep sense of unity; Islam demands from us the tolerance of other creeds and we welcome in closest association with all those who, of whatever creed, are themselves willing and ready to play their part as true and loyal citizens of Pakistan.”

In the same context worth-remembering is the reply of the Quaid to Lord Mountbatten’s address in the Constituent Assembly on August 14, 1947.

He said the tolerance and goodwill showed by Emperor Akbar to all the non-Muslims was not of recent origin. “It dates back (more than) 13 centuries ago when our Prophet (peace be upon him) not only by words but by deeds treated the Jews and Christians with the most tolerance and regard and respect for their faiths and beliefs”.

How remarkably relevant is the press conference of Pakistan’s architect at New Delhi a month before Pakistan came into being!

“Minorities to whichever community they may belong, will be safeguarded. Their religion or faith or belief will be secure. There will be no interference of any kind with their freedom of worship. They’ll have their protection with regard to their religion, their faith, their life, their culture. They’ll have their rights and privileges and, no doubt, along with it goes the obligation of citizenship. Therefore, the minorities have their responsibilities also.”

By the way, such thinking and doing things on humanitarian basis will pave the way for greater unity and make easy the gigantic task of development.

zasarwar@hotmail.com