Pakistan: Karachi Police launches ‘Minorities Protection Desks’ to facilitate Citizens

The Karachi Police Office (KPO), Pakistan, has launched ‘Minorities Protection Desks’ for the facilitation and protection of the non-Muslim citizens in Karachi – the metropolitan city of Pakistan on November 27.  

The event was organized at the Karachi Police Office under the leadership of the Additional Inspector General of Karachi Police. Presiding over the event,  Anthony Naveed, the Deputy Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh in Pakistan and the Catholic Minister of the Sindh Assembly, officially  inaugurated the initiative.

“The establishment of the ‘Minority Facilitation Desks’ is a significant step toward strengthening coordination, accessibility, and support for the religious minority communities across Karachi, the seaport city of Pakistan”, Anthony Naveed said in his address during the inaugural ceremony.

He further said: “Minority Facilitation Desks reflects a collective commitment to ensure equal access to justice and improving trust between law-enforcement agencies and the religious minority communities.”

He emphasized that the Minority Facilitation Desks will serve as a responsive, people-centered platform for grievance redressal, guidance, and community engagement.

Mr. Anthony Naveed also congratulated and appreciated the Additional Inspector General the head of the Karachi Police Javed Alam Odho for his vision and dedication to inclusive policing, and to initiate the Minority Facilitation Desks with commitment and professionalism. He also extended the Sindh Government’s gratitude to the Home Minister and the Inspector General of Sindh Police for their continuous support and facilitation in establishing this important initiative.

“I am confident that the Minority Facilitation Desks will play a vital role in bringing communities closer and strengthening trust and confidence of the public in the police. And I also reaffirm the Government of Sindh commitment to promote harmony, safety, and equal rights for all citizens”, the Deputy Speaker concluded.

Speaking to the Radio Veritas Asia, Fr. Mario Rodrigues, a senior priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi said: “Being a representative of the Catholic Church at the inaugural ceremony, I appreciate this initiative that is especially taken to ensure the protection of the religious minorities in the city. This initiative brings confidence to the Non-Muslims in the city that the Government of the Sindh Province is concerned about its non-Muslim citizens”.

Fr. Rodrigues further said: “The Archbishop of Karachi and the clergy welcomed and appreciated this initiative that will be a great support for the non-Muslims Communities in the city and it will benefit them, and will ease the process for the religious minorities to register their complaints, and file the cases.”

Speaking to Radio Veritas Asia, Kashif Anthony, the Coordinator of the Catholic Commission of Justice and Peace (CCJP) in the Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi, who also joined the training program organized for the Minority Protection Desks facilitators informed that this initiative is taken in light of the well-known judgment of the Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, a ruling that is famously known as a Judgment on Minority Rights in 2014.

He further added: “In this initiative of Minority Protection Desks, there are twelve Minority Protection Desks inaugurated in the various police stations in the city to facilitate the people of the religious minorities as much as possible. This initiative will surely give confidence to people of the religious minorities and increase their trust in the police and the justice system in the country.”