Minorities in Pakistan still only allowed to vote for Muslim candidates

Karachi, Apr. 1 (ANI): Around 2.77 million people belonging to religious minority communities across Pakistan will take part in the electoral process, not for their own representatives, but for Muslim candidates.

Officially, the religious minorities of Pakistan have dual voting rights, allowing them to not only vote on general seats of Muslim candidates, but also for their own members, but practically the system has not been implemented, reports the Daily Times.

Thus, minorities will vote for general seats, but their own representatives without contesting elections, will be used by whichever party wins the majority to elevate their number of seats in the assembly. The same happens on reserved seats for women MPAs and MNAs.

In 1995, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto promised to give rights of dual vote to religious minorities, but her government did not consider it. Later, former dictator Pervez Musharraf in 2000 issued this right to religious minorities, allowing them to use their one vote for general seats as well as for their own candidates.

However, since the candidates of the minority groups do not participate in active voting and are selected on 'reserved' seats, the rights to cast a second vote are wasted.

The Pakistan People's Party-led government also made several promises during its last five years that they would make amendments in the law, allowing minorities to utilize their dual voting rights, however none of those promises were fulfilled.

The minority leaders fear that influential and affluent figures will be made members of the assemblies, who will not consider resolving the problems of the poor minority.

Pakistan Hindu Sabha (PHS) leader, Advocate PM Dileep, said that despite several promises made by the governments and political parties of issuing and using dual voting rights, no one has yet considered to make it official.

Though, PPP government increased the number of seats for religious minorities of the country in the NA and four provincial assemblies from existing 33 to 44, which includes 14 for NA, four in Balochistan Assembly, four in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Assembly, 10 in Punjab Assembly and 12 in Sindh Assembly. Despite the increase in seat numbers, the non-Muslim citizens will not be able to take their desired candidate through their vote to the assembly. (ANI)