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Nasir Saaed, director of the British branch of the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) told BosNewsLife that he encountered "pessimism" among Christians, although there was “relief that the tensions of the last few months have died down." He said religious tensions in this mainly Muslim nation "culminated in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, and a wave of violence that followed." Several churches and individual Christian families have been attacked as well as CLAAS officials. Yet, he said, major changes for Pakistan’s Christian minority remain difficult to achieve as currently only four seats are allocated to Christian candidates in parliament. RELIGIOUS MINORITIES "One question I would like to ask President Musharraf is: How can people from religious minorities in this country get excited about the future of Pakistan when they have no true representation at government levels, no power to make decisions and no rights?," he argued. "However, I am hopeful about the future. Times are changing, people in Pakistan and around the world are taking an interest in what is happening in the country concerning human rights and persecution," the CLAAS official added. "Because of this, it will be hard for the new government to ignore the plight of three million Pakistani Christians in the months ahead." (With reporting from Pakistan).
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