Steps Taken To End Sense Of Deprivation Among Minorities: Minister

Provincial Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Affairs (HR&MA) Ejaz Alam Augustine Tuesday said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had taken numerous steps to end the sense of deprivation among religious minorities

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2021 ) :Provincial Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Affairs (HR&MA) Ejaz Alam Augustine Tuesday said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had taken numerous steps to end the sense of deprivation among religious minorities.

He was presiding over a consultative meeting on issues facing religious minorities here. The meeting was attended by Deputy Secretary HEC Saima Anwar, Information and Culture SOC Ashraf Asghar, representatives from GC University, Punjab University and representatives from religious minorities.

The minister said that implementation of two per cent quota in the higher education sector for the youth of religious minorities was being ensured across Punjab, while five per cent quota for religious minorities was also being implemented in the province.

The HR&MA minister said that for the first time in the history, all festivals of religious minorities were being celebrated at the official level. He said that an advertisement for more than 19,000 vacancies would be published soon.

He said that steps were being taken to ensure admission of youth belonging to religious minorities to medical colleges, adding that thousands of complaints had been resolved by department's complaint cell in the last three years.

The provincial minister told the meeting that on the directions of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, cells had been set up in each department for resolving the issues facing the religious minorities.

The participants in the session also presented various suggestions while appreciating the steps taken by the Punjab government for the religious minorities.

The HEC deputy secretary said that all measures were being taken to ensure admission of religious minorities to universities. She said that awareness about two per cent quota was being spread through the media at all levels.

Mian Umar Hayat from the Human Rights Department said that there was a complaint cell in the department which takes immediate notice of any violation in the province.