Pakistan goes to the polls to-morrow for very delicate general elections. Today’s election eve was also marked by serious violence, with two attacks in which 28 people died and at least 40 others were injured in Pishin and Qila Saifullah, in the province of Baluchistan. While from prison, former Prime Minister Imran Khan had his followers spread a pre-recorded message inviting followers of his party to go and vote. In such a tense context, what do these elections represent for Pakistan’s Christians? AsiaNews asked Msgr. Samson Shukardin, bishop of the diocese of Hyderabad and president of the Episcopal Conference of Pakistan:
“Due to the way the electoral system works, even the parliamentarians who are supposed to represent minorities are chosen by the political parties and not by the community. Many voters, then, do not have access to the vote because they have not been registered, otherwise in some constituencies Christians would have a very high number of voters. We too must improve so that all the faithful are aware of their rights and duties as citizens. ”
“We need good candidates who can serve our community. Already today in at least 20 constituencies in the country Christian voters are a significant number and we could win general seats, but everything is left to the choice of each party.”