The All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) has demanded of the government to reinstate 173 sacked health workers of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town and eliminate discriminative laws immediately. Addressing a protest rally at the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday, Sindh APMA Secretary-General Michael Javed said that minority segment had remained neglected and suppressed by discriminative laws since independence.
He demanded of the government to facilitate minorities by increasing the number of reserved seats in assemblies, saying the government should double the seats, which had fixed as per 1973 Constitution for minorities.
Michael Javed called upon all political parties to support the bill, which has been lying in Senate for the approval and demanded of the authority concerned to reserve at least nine seats for minorities in the Senate. He said that around 173 health workers were sacked by the officials at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town without any reason and appealed to the government to take stern action against those responsible in this connection.
He paid tribute to the late Rt. Bishop John Joseph, who struggled all his life to safeguard and fight for the rights of minorities, saying the protest rally was arranged to follow in his foot steps and motivate the entire society to work on getting rights of minorities.
He said the government should eliminate 295-B/C law, which deprives minorities of getting their rights, adding that Bishop John had opposed the law and fought with authority for its removal. But unfortunately, the person, who raises the voice against the discriminative attitude of the society, is silenced, he said.