LAHORE:Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal and MNA Ramesh Kumar jointly presided over a meeting to review the implementation of the Supreme Court’s orders regarding the protection of minorities rights, at the Civil Secretariat here on Saturday.
The participants discussed issues related to Ganesh Temple Bhong Rahim Yar Khan, Prahladpuri Temple Multan, job quota for minorities, and security of their worship places. The meeting was also briefed on the Punjab government’s steps taken in light of the apex court’s orders.
Punjab Chief Secretary said that the Constitution of Pakistan guarantees equal rights for all minorities, adding that practical measures were being taken to protect the rights of minorities in the province. He said that Islam emphasizes the safeguarding of minorities’ rights and it was the responsibility of the government to take care of the religious places of minorities. The Chief Secretary also issued instructions to all departments to implement the job quota for minorities.
MNA Ramesh Kumar said that the efforts of the Punjab government for the restoration of Ganesh Temple Bhong were praiseworthy. He mentioned that there was a need to speed up work on restoration and construction work of Prahladpuri Temple Multan.
The IG Punjab said that the police would provide complete security for worship places of all minorities. He said that action was being taken against the culprits involved in the attack on the Ganesh Temple Bhong.
The Evacuee Property Trust Board (ETPB) officials said that the design of the Prahladpuri temple would be completed by December 15. The Home department officials said that all possible steps had been taken to ensure the security of the worship places of minorities and as many as 224 new posts had been created in the police for this purpose.
The meeting was attended by IG Punjab, Additional Chief Secretary, secretaries of different departments including Law, Human Rights, Auqaf while divisional commissioners of Multan and Bahawalpur, deputy commissioner, and district police officer of Rahim Yar Khan participated through video link.