LAHORE - The Lahore High Court on Thursday sought replies from the Punjab government and the IGP within a week on a petition seeking protection of minorities’ rights.
A Chiristian journalist Javed Gull of Sambrial had filed the petition through his counsel M Dawood Ghaznavi submitting that the fundamental rights protected by the constitution had been infringed due to recent state of affairs regarding the persecution of minorities by the intolerant section of society and failure of the state to protect them.
The petitioner stated that the Supreme Court had already issued certain directions for protection of lives and properties of the minorities but unfortunately so far it was not implemented.
He told the judge that minorities were tortured many times including the recent horrifying incident of lynching couple in Kasur district. He said the Christians were contributing
on equal footing for the prosperity of the country and had remarkable services in education and health without any discrimination.
He prayed the court to direct the authorities concerned to implement the apex court verdict for effective enforcement of the minorities rights and to take remedial measures for protection of minorities.
After hearing the initial arguments of the petitioner’s counsel, Justice Shams Mahmood Mirza directed Punjab government to submit reply on next hearing. The court will resume hearing the next week.