ISLAMABAD - President of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q), Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, on Tuesday said that his party was committed to promoting dialogue and interfaith harmony between the followers of different faiths and it would continue to promote interfaith harmony in the country.
Addressing the participants of a function held here at the PML House to mark the celebrations of Christmas, Ch Shujaat conveyed his heartfelt felicitations to the Christian community on the eve of Christmas. He said that the PML was the only party which always celebrates the religious festivities of the minorities. He said that Quaid-e-Azam had underscored the need to remove all sorts of differences among all civilians. He said the PML strongly believed that all citizens of the country were only Pakistanis and there was no identity of all other than Pakistani.
He said that he personally believed that the word of minority should be used rarely and every citizen should be known as Pakistani as all were equal before the law. PML-Q secretary-general Mushahid Hussain Sayed said that the PML was the only political outfit of the country, which observes celebrations of Christmas and Easter every year. He said that no one could become a Muslim without accepting the prophet-hood of Jesus. He said this was Quaid-e-Azam’s vision that all citizens were equal before the law. He said that the PML government had introduced joint electorate in year 2002 while reserved seats were also allocated for minorities in the assemblies and the Senate. He said that the incumbent government had increased the reserved seats for minorities which was a major step for their empowerment.
“We believe in giving equal rights to minorities, women and youth segments in all spheres of life. We are also indebted to the minorities for polling record number of votes in previous elections for the PML and we hope that they will again vote for us in the upcoming polls,” he added.
He said that the PML will create a progressive and prosperous Pakistan in which people from all faiths would prosper equally. “We will continue to promote, protect and preserve the rights of the people of all minorities,” he maintained.
State Minister for Interfaith Harmony Akram Masih Gill said that the
PML was taking along the Quaid’s vision about minorities and his party’s previous government had ensured equal rights to the minorities.