The Ministry of Minorities used to be a federal-level

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

in the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...

. The head of the ministry was known as the Minister for Minorities and was a member of the federal

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

. Until September 2004, the functions of this ministry were carried out by the Minorities Wing of the former Ministry of Minorities, Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs - but it remained underfunded for some time. This changed when it was upgraded to a fully-fledged, independent Ministry of Minorities, founded under

President Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...

. In November 2008, the government (then led by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP)) invested in a larger ministry and renamed it the Ministry of Minorities Affairs. The role of minister was awarded to a Christian activist,

Shahbaz Bhatti Clement Shahbaz Bhatti (9 September 19682 March 2011), popularly known as Shahbaz Bhatti, was a Pakistani politician who was elected as a member of the National Assembly from 2008. He was the first Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs from N ...

, who served in this position until March 2, 2011, when he was assassinated in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

. In July 2011, the

closed the Minorities Affairs Ministry as part of a decentralization plan that would see powers in this area transferred to the provinces. However, a new ministry was created with almost the same remit but under a different name, the Ministry for National Harmony. Shahbaz Bhatti's brother,

Paul Bhatti Dr. Paul Jacob Bhatti is a Pakistani politician and well-known surgeon. He is the former federal minister in charge of National Harmony and Minorities Affairs. He served as a minister in the government of President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zarda ...

, was appointed to lead it, as a "Special Advisor" to the Prime Minister. In June 2013, under a newly elected government led by the

Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ( ur, , translit=Pākistān Muslim Līg (Nūn) PML(N) or PML-N) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Liberal conservatism, liberal conservative political party in Pakistan. Alongside the Pakistan Teh ...

, the Ministry of National Harmony was merged with a larger ministry, the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Some argue that this weakens minority representation at the highest level. Others say it is a positive move to 'mainstream' minority concerns and avoid marginalisation.

References

External links

Ministry of National Harmony, Pakistan

Ministry of Religious Affairs, Pakistan
2004 establishments in Pakistan Pakistan, Minorities Minorities {{Pakistan-gov-stub