Govt to ensure equal rights to all citizens, says Nawaz

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the government would ensure provision of equal rights to all citizens in light of the Constitution as well as the teachings of Islam.

The premier, in his message on the occasion of Holi festival being celebrated Sunday, extended his felicitations to the Hindu community of Pakistan. “The circumstances in Pakistan are changing.

Here, the days of spring are coming up for which the basis of interfaith peace and coexistence were laid. “Pakistan was created as hub of peace not only for Muslims rather every tribe and community living in the region,” he said.

The prime minister said the government would make arrangements to disallow any discrimination in the name of religion and the followers of every religion must feel free to practice their own faiths.

The citizens should also not suffer from any sense of deprivation regarding employment or any other matter due to their faith, he added. He viewed that Holi heralds the onset of spring and brings along a message of hope for a better future.

This festival also gives good news that the societies also improve just like the winter turning into the spring season, he added. Nawaz said Quaid-i-Azam in his address on August 11, 1947 had made it clear that there would be no discrimination on the basis of faith in the country.

The state was bound to fulfil the commitment the Quaid had made to the minorities in that address without tolerating any laxity in this regard, he added. He said whole of the nation recognised the role of Hindu community for the country’s development and lauded such a passion of the minorities.

According to another report, Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair attended Holi celebrations Sunday at the Governor’s House Staff Colony, arranged by Hindu employees. The governor congratulated Hindus on their festival of Holi.