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| Pak minorities fear exclusion from voting rights | | |
ISLAMABAD, JULY 6
The minorities in Pakistan have voiced fear that large sections of their community members may be barred from exercising their votes in the general elections due at the end of the year as they have been excluded from the electoral rolls.
The Sikh, Hindu and Christian communities complained that the names of several voters from their community were missing from the draft list issued recently by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
There is a feeling of resentment among the minorities, particularly the Hindu community, majority of whom are settled in interior Sindh like Tharparkar, Larkana, Umerkot and others.
Mukesh Chawla, a provincial lawmaker and member of the Pakistan People's Party minority wing, said the names of 40 per cent of these voters were missing from the electoral list.
Sardar Ramesh Singh, Chairman Sikh Naujawan Sabah said there were still a large number of Sikhs who had not registered for the upcoming elections due to the insufficient time period and the complicated registration process.
"I thought July 3 was the last date for registration. I did not know the date had been extended. Our leaders did not inform us," Singh was quoted as saying by The News daily.
Singh complained that the issued list displayed the names of only those who had registered in 2002.
While he was not sure about the exact increase in the number of voters, Singh said, "In these five years, the number of voters must have increased approximately by a thousand, that is, from 2,500 to 3,500."
"It is the constitutional responsibility of the government to register the eligible voters," said Mansha Noor, member of Caritas, a Catholic NGO.
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