Minority rights activists gather outside Mazar‑i‑Quaid to demand equal citizenship, citing Jinnah’s 1947 vision.

On August 11, activists gathered outside the Mazar‑i‑Quaid site in Karachi to honor a remark made by Pakistan’s founder, Quaid‑i‑Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, when the vestiges of the nation’s birth were still being carved out. Jinnah had spoken in the Constituent Assembly about a country where worship at temples, mosques and other places of meeting would not determine a person’s standing before the state. He insisted on equal rights, privileges and obligations for all citizens, rejecting discrimination on grounds of faith, caste or creed. Today’s march brought that vision into the public square. Organisers have issued eleven specific demands. These include tighter safeguards against forced conversions, protection against misuse of blasphemy laws, greater political representation for minorities, removal of discriminatory content from school textbooks, safeguarding of minority property and places of worship, and improved access to education and employment. The group also wants the constitution amended so non‑Muslim citizens can run for president and prime minister. The gathering underscored a delayed request for a No‑Objection Certificate (NOC). The organisers emphasised that peaceful assembly is a right, not an indulgence. The protest highlighted a persistent gap between Jinnah’s initial promise of equal citizenship and the reality faced by Pakistan’s religious minorities, who still encounter mob violence, attacks on places of worship, forced conversions and social exclusion. The March serves as a reminder that Pakistan’s founding principle of equal citizenship requires more than rhetoric. If the state wishes to honour that promise, it must ensure that every citizen can claim equal dignity, security and political belonging.