Pakistani district council wants only Christians as sweepers

In the resolution adopted unanimously, the council said all Muslims posted as sweepers should be transferred to other posts such as those of a guard or a peon, the channel reported.

The resolution was presented by the country's ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's Akmal Khan, said the channel in its report.

The resolution also stated that the idea was in accordance with court orders.

The document, however, did not specify when a court gave such an order and in what case, the TV channel said.

Akmal Khan told Samaa that he did not remember the date of the court order.

Last year, however, the Peshawar High Court had passed a verdict in which Muslims working as sweepers in the Bacha Khan Medical Complex were to be transferred to other posts, he said.

Human rights lawyer Advocate Mary James Gill strongly condemned the move, saying the resolution was in violation of the Article 27 of the Constitution.

She told Samaa TV that the move not only went against Quaid-i-Azam M A Jinnah's vision for the country, but also the basic principles of Islam.

Christians and Hindus make up the largest minority groups in Muslim-majority Pakistan, with each representing about 1.6 per cent of the population.

Earlier this month, the US State Department listed Pakistan as one of the world's top three abusers of religious rights, along with China and Saudi Arabia.