Summary Every year, this day is celebrated on August 11 to highlight the rights of minorities and pay tribute to the positive role of the minority community.
KARACHI (Dunya News) – Pakistan is marking National Minorities Day on Tuesday (today).
The observance of National Minorities Day in Pakistan began on August 11, 2009, during the tenure of then Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.
Every year, this day is celebrated on August 11 to highlight the rights of minorities and pay tribute to the positive role of the minority community.
The positive role of the minority community in the country's development and progress is a reflection of the pledge and historic speech of the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, under which every citizen, without discrimination, enjoys equal rights and complete religious freedom.
MESSAGE OF PRESIDENT ASIF ALI ZARDARI
President Asif Ali Zardari has called for renewing the commitment to making Pakistan a country where justice, equality, tolerance and service to humanity are the defining features.
“We must ensure that our future generations inherit a Pakistan that stands as a beacon of peace, progress, stability and mutual respect,” the president said in a message on National Minorities Day.
On the occasion of National Minorities Day, the president conveyed warm greetings to all Pakistanis, especially their ethnic and religious minorities, on the historic day.
He said the religious minorities in Pakistan had contributed prominently in conflicts, wars, health, education and other domains of life and continued doing so even today along with other compatriots.
“The entire nation is proud of their national services, patriotism and significant contribution to the country’s holistic progress and development,” he added.
PRIME MINISTER SHEHBAZ SHARIF
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan commemorates National Minorities Day every year with a firm resolve to acknowledge the invaluable presence of minorities, their inclusion in the national mainstream, and their significant contributions to national progress and prosperity.
In his message on National Minorities Day, the prime minister said the minorities living in Pakistan were an integral part of the national fabric and reflected the true beauty of the country’s diverse social and cultural landscape.
He recalled that on August 11, 1947, while addressing the historic inaugural session of the Constituent Assembly, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had unequivocally affirmed the rights of minorities in Pakistan, declaring that people were free to go to their temples, mosques or any other place of worship, and that religion, caste or creed had nothing to do with the business of the state.
The prime minister said these historic words of the Quaid-e-Azam held an enduring and unforgettable place in Pakistan’s social order, system of governance and religious ethos.
He said the day also served as a reaffirmation of Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to unity among different segments and communities of society, peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and equal opportunities for progress for all, adding that Pakistan was a diverse society where people belonging to different faiths, cultures, nationalities and traditions lived together in harmony.
