President Alvi’s announcement of April 9 elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces has triggered a controversy
Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi during a guard of honor ceremony at the military parade to mark Pakistan’s National Day in Islamabad on March 25, 2021. (Photo: AFP)
Christian leaders in Pakistan have joined opposition leaders in demanding the rescheduling of elections in two provincial assemblies slated for April 9 citing Easter festivities.
Father Inayat Barnard, the chaplain of Caritas Pakistan, criticized the unilateral decision to hold the polls of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provincial assemblies on Easter Sunday and said the people should be made aware of “this unwanted announcement.”
The announcement was made by President Arif Alvi, a senior leader of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) though according to Pakistan’s constitution, it is the provincial governors who announce new elections in case an interim government is not formed within 90 days of the dissolution of an assembly.
The provincial legislatures in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab were dissolved last month as the PTI is pushing for early national elections.
“The Christian members of national and provincial assemblies should bring this ‘presidential negligence’ to the notice of speakers and change the date,” Father Barnard said.
Father Barnard said that “the president is for all citizens of the country and not only of Muslims” while reminding how politicians proclaim Christians as their brothers and sisters during election campaigns and then pretend as if they do not exist in Pakistan.
Alvi’s announcement has also upset the ruling alliance parties.
A Muslim minister, who did not want to be named, accused the president of announcing the election date “without any authority.”
He said Alvi was “behaving more like a worker of PTI” and was “exceeding his limits.”
The controversy has deepened the political crisis in Pakistan amid an ongoing economic crisis, worsened by a global energy crisis and devastating floods that submerged a third of the country.
However, Shunila Ruth, a Christian woman leader of PTI, defended the election announcement saying casting one’s vote was a national duty.
“Worshippers can turn up at their local polling stations after the sunrise service or morning Mass. It’s better than staying at home and just celebrating,” she told UCA News.
Ruth also sought to clarify that the PTI did not mean to disregard the concerns of the Christian community whose votes do matter for the party.
“It’s a constitutional requirement to hold the polls before the deadline,” she added.
Roheel Zafar Shahi, secretary-general of the Pakistan Minority Rights Commission, said he plans to approach the high courts in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for redressal.
“People with such egos have no respect for the feasts of other religions. Aren’t such politicians ashamed of themselves,” he said.
Aspiring Christian candidates stood a slim chance to contest the elections as Punjab has eight reserved seats for non-Muslims while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has three seats.
The Election Commission had rescheduled local elections in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, as Christian members of federal statutory bodies rejected the decision to hold them on Christmas Eve last year.
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