LAHORE, Pakistan (UCAN) -- Under colorful campaign banners decorating the city's roads, people queue at government trucks selling cheap bags of flour.

Common people, Christians and Muslims alike, are struggling to get what they need to make roti, their staple bread. Meanwhile, President Pervez Musharraf is in Europe seeking international support by making tall claims of huge economic progress and pledging fair parliamentary elections on Feb. 18.

Many opposition leaders are boycotting the elections. They have denounced the provisional constitutional order that Musharraf imposed in early November and still holds him above the constitution.

Church people favor free, fair and transparent elections. "But what choices does the country have? Martial law would be another tragedy," a Catholic priest told me. "Even if we have no tradition of honest and fair elections, we must make a difficult choice to move forward."

The top Church concern for the elections is the survival of democracy, but fear runs a close second. This became clear during a consultation the Minority Rights Commission held on Jan. 18 at Caritas Hall in Lahore. The minority leaders bluntly stated they are afraid of the fallout from the current crisis.

More than 50 Catholic, Hindu, Protestant and Sikh representatives attended the consultation on "Dangers to Pakistan Because of Extremism and Militancy - Policy of Minorities." They discussed how today's multi-layered crisis impacts ethnic and religious minorities. In their exchanges, ranging from politics to the wheat shortage, they agreed a minority commission must be established.

Similar demands surfaced on Jan. 15 at a seminar organized in Lahore by the Catholic bishops' National Commission for Justice and Peace. The commission demanded the restoration of the judiciary and urged political parties to develop what Pakistan's constitution describes as a multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic society.

In a country where the majority has little or no idea of a pluralist state, religious minorities have been often identified with India or the West.

Amid the rise of religious extremism in recent years, the Church has been promoting peace and recommending ways to end the violence. Various inter-faith commissions have hosted Christian and Muslim groups at Church venues to hear lengthy speeches on peace and harmony.

Their efforts did bear some fruit. After 12 churches in Pakistan were attacked in 2006, real peace returned to Church buildings, especially after the suspension of the chief justice last March triggered fierce protests.

However, the bloodbath has returned in extreme measure. Since late December, 46 people have been killed in bombings. Fear and insecurity now grip the already marginalized Christian community who feel intensely insecure in their own homeland. Their only relief is in foreign passports or ghettos, such as on Lahore's outskirts, in Pakistan's largest Christian settlement.

For young Catholics, security in life is quickly overcoming the passion of patriotism. The aspiration of many is to leave and live abroad. Some abandon their educational careers and marry young women who have foreign nationality.

Others enter minor seminaries but do not hesitate to quit in the eighth year, after gaining enough command of English. According to seminary rectors, half the minor seminarians drop out. Even so, the former seminarians still feel helpless because their studies do not equip them with technical skills.

Christianity has survived for two millennia. Our rich history and faith in Christ give us hope for a good future. At the same time, local Christians, most of them poor, regard education as the only path to prosperity.

The Church runs some of Pakistan's elite schools and can use such resources. Special consideration and discounts should be given to young Christian girls who apply to enter convent schools. The Church should also try to dispel the impression that these schools are only for the rich class.

Benazir Bhutto exemplifies such a student. She came from a wealthy family and went to such schools - Convent of Jesus and Mary in Karachi, Presentation Convent in Rawalpindi and Jesus and Mary Convent at Murree.

Even so, Christians continue to mourn her assassination on Dec. 27 as the cathedral in Karachi prepares to celebrate a memorial Mass for her this week.

Some in the Church say she would have been a sincere, genuine leader of both Muslims and non-Muslims because her exile humbled her. With her gone, it now can only pray for a peaceful democratic state where all enjoy equal rights.

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Kamran Chaudhry is the UCAN Bureau Chief in Pakistan.

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