Muslim-majority Pakistan has now passed a resolution to declare the Hindu festivals of Diwali and Holi, and the Christian festival of Easter, as "closed public holidays.'' The passing of this resolution sends out a positive message to the religious minorities of Pakistan which have often allegedly felt persecuted.
Pakistan’s Express Tribune newspaper says this resolution was initiated by one of the Hindu Law makers Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani in the National Assembly, an elected member on a seat for minorities from Tharparkar- Sindh. Dr Vankwani is also patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council. He asked for "closed holidays" for the Hindu festivals and opined that this was an important step for Pakistan for it's "good image" abroad.
According to the Express Tribune the resolution did take the cabinet ministers by surprise and led to some confusion but the Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid ended the dilemma by saying, " minorities could be granted holiday by their respective offices and “Pakistan already has one of the highest rates of public holidays compared to the rest of the world.”
