The presence of minorities in a state not only represents its religious and cultural diversity, but it also casts a great impact on national, ethnic, and religious integrity of the country where the minority as well as majority members may try to promote values of peace and interfaith harmony. While Pakistan grants equal civic and constitutional rights to its minorities, implementation of these rights most of the times remains an uphill challenge. Most recently religious minorities in the country have become vulnerable to social, economic, and political discrimination where it has become difficult for them to safeguard even their basic human and civic rights. Several cases have been reported lately where the conflicts have led to many non-Muslim Pakistanis not being able to exercise their constitutional rights, resulting in systematic cases of discrimination. For enabling the voices of minorities to be heard, it is essential to ensure that the dialogues can replace conflicts, and mutual understanding among majority and minority representatives could enhance the acceptability and provision of basic Minority Rights.
In the light of above, the Centre for peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) in collaboration with The Asia Foundation (TAF) has planned a seminar on “Rights of Minorities.”