Political Participation of Religious Minorities in Pakistan under the Lens of Human Rights Based Approach

Abstract

Human rights are a legal and natural guarantee to the people that they have
fundamental rights and duties (to each other) that make their lives and survival easy.
Human beings, state and state institutions, are responsible for providing and protecting
the fundamental rights of every single person. According to “Article 21 of the United
Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human rights (UNDHR), 1948” also considers the
political rights of every state’s citizens as fundamental rights. According to the
Constitutions of their states, any person’s political rights are an essential part of human
rights. The Constitution of Pakistan also gives political rights to every citizen regardless
of gender, caste, creed, or religion. To examine the human rights situation in any
country, United Nations developed a framework known as Human Rights Based
Approach (HRBA). This research paper uses HRBA as a framework to examine the
political rights of Christian Minorities in Pakistan since 1973. For this purpose, a Mixed
Method Approach is used, combining both qualitative and quantitative research
methods. This research uses secondary data (reports, articles, books, and research
papers) and primary data (interviews and panel discussions).