LAHORE: (Saturday, December 21, 2024): Provincial Minister for Human Rights and Minority Affairs Ramesh Singh Arora has said that minorities enjoy liberty in Pakistan and the event to celebrate Christmas in Punjab University is one of the best examples that minorities are provided with complete religious freedom and other rights in the country. He was speaking at the Christmas cake cutting ceremony organized by Punjab University's Christian employees at Faisal Auditorium. On this occasion, PU VC Prof Dr Muhammad Ali, MPA Ghazali Salim Butt, MPA Khalid Khokhar, MPA Malik Shafiq Khokhar, MPA Chaudhry Waseem Anjam Sandhu, Parliamentary Secretary Sonia Ashar, Registrar Dr Ahmed Islam, President Punjab University Employees Union Chaudhry Basharat Mehmood, Chairman Christian Union Chaudhry Mushtaq Masih, faculty members, a large number of Christian employees and their families were present.

In his address, Ramesh Singh Arora said that the world's perception about minorities in Pakistan is wrong. On the contrary, he said, minorities are never discriminated in Pakistan. He said that Christmas is a festival of love, brotherhood, peace, fraternity and joy in which the participation of all communities promotes unity. He said that the message of the Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz is that the minorities are our crowns, who have the freedom to celebrate their religious festivals without any fear. He said that steps are being taken to give minority cards to fifty thousand Christian families with low income in Punjab. He said that the minority and majority have an equal role for development and prosperity of Pakistan. He said that the actions of Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Ali for providing the best facilities to the people of every color, race, religion, province and others in PU are commendable. He expressed the hope that PU will develop further under the leadership of Dr Muhammad Ali. He said that according to the vision of the Chief Minister, by investing in education, they are enabling children to become ambassadors of peace and love in the world. Prof Dr Muhammad Ali said that PU's Christian employees are part of our family. He said that Pakistan is a beautiful country and everyone participating in such events with unity adds to its beauty. He appreciated the efforts of Ch. Mushtaq and his team for organizing a beautiful event and wished them a Happy Christmas. Chairman Christian Union Ch. Mushtaq Masih said that he is grateful to the Vice Chancellor for giving advance salary, bonus and Eidi on the occasion of Christmas. He said that since the last 20 years we have been celebrating every festival freely in PU without any fear for which we are thankful to the administration. Later, Ramesh Singh Arora, Dr Muhammad Ali and others cut the Christmas cake.