Pakistan leaders stress minority rights in Diwali messages

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday extended Diwali greetings to Pakistan’s Hindu community and reiterated the government’s commitment to protecting minority rights and promoting interfaith harmony. The leaders’ messages, issued as Hindus across the country marked the five‑day festival of lights, invoked constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and called for unity and tolerance.

Zardari said the festival “reminds us of the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil,” and praised the contributions of the Hindu community in education, commerce and public service. He also invoked the vision of the country’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, saying that Pakistan was meant to be a state in which minorities enjoy equal rights and opportunities. In a post on the social media platform X, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered “heartfelt greetings” to Hindus in Pakistan and abroad and urged citizens to work together so that every person can live in peace and contribute to national progress.

At a ceremony held at the Prime Minister House to mark Diwali, officials and representatives of different faiths attended as the government highlighted...