Allow non-Muslims to be PM, President

The Provincial Minister for Finance, Minorities Affairs and Human Rights in Pakistan's Punjab wants to see non-Muslims made eligible for the office of president and prime minister in the country, reports The Express Tribune.
Pakistan
August 12, 2011
Catholic Church News Image of Allow non-Muslims to be PM, President
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An official from the Pakistani province of Punjab stated that – in addition to being ineligible to become the country’s President – a recent Constitutional Reforms Committee decision has excluded non-Muslims from becoming Prime Minister, reports The Express Tribune.

Provincial Minister for Finance, Minorities Affairs and Human Rights, Kamran Michael, said that minorities who are not Muslims are just as patriotic and are an integral part of Pakistani society – and they should be eligible for the office of president and prime minister of Pakistan.

The report adds that Michael, who himself was the centre of a storm when he was first asked to present the Punjab budget. Being a Christian, he was superseded at the behest of some Punjab assembly members who did not think a Christian ought to be charged with such an important task. But he eventually went on to be the first non-Muslim finance minister to present the provincial budget.

FULL STORY

Non-Muslims ought to be eligible to become President, PM: Kamran Michael (The Express Tribune)

RELATED STORIES

“We, the forgotten Christian minorities” (Vatican Insider)

Minorities’ rights to be protected: President, PM (Pakistan Observer)

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