LAHORE: Minority communities held a protest demonstration in front of the Punjab Assembly building here on Wednesday to demand withdrawal of “anti-minorities” Punjab Local Government Ordinance.

Led by Archbishop Sebastian Francis Shaw and Rt Rev Samuel Azraiah and others, the protesters said the ordinance did not give the minority communities right to vote to directly elect their representatives in the local government system.

A large number of political, social and human rights activists also participated as a show of solidarity.

The Archbishop said: “We as voters have been deprived of directly electing our own representatives. This ordinance is clearly a political apartheid and has added to the deprivation of religious minorities.”

He demanded that the Punjab government withdraw the controversial law to ensure effective representation of religious minorities in the local governments.

Rejecting the law, Rt Rev Samuel Azraiah termed it “unconstitutional”, “anti-minorities” and against the globally known “democratic norms and values” which ensure equal treatment of all citizens without any discrimination.

He said the minorities would continue to protest if the government did not withdraw the ordinance.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2015

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