LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Sunday unanimously passed a resolution to pay tribute to the minorities in the province.
Minister for Minority Affairs Ramesh Singh Arora, moved the resolution, highlighting the role played by the minorities in the creation and development of Pakistan.
It said that the Quaid-i-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had declared that “minorities are free to go to their places of worship.”
The federal government has declared August 11 as National Minorities Day. It coincides with the historic speech delivered by Quaid-i-Azam on August 11, 1947, where he promised to protect the rights and religious freedom of minorities in Pakistan.
Earlier in the day, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif voiced support and solidarity with religious minorities.
Minister for Minorities Ramesh Singh Arora talking to media outside the Punjab Assembly said that the constitution of Pakistan talks about equality for every citizen of the country.
He added d that Pakistan is a country which represents the Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians. Arora is the first Sikh minister in the Punjab cabinet after 1947.
