Christian politician Anthony Naveed has achieved a serious political milestone after he was elected as the primary Christian Deputy Speaker of the Sindh Provincial Assembly last Sunday.
Naveed, who’s the one Christian chosen on a reserved seat for minorities within the Sindh Provincial Assembly by the progressive Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) after the Feb. 8 general election, bagged 111 votes out of 147 votes forged. His opponent, Advocate Rashid Khan of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, clinched 36 votes.
Born right into a modest Catholic family in Karachi, 53-year-old Naveed obtained an engineering diploma in garment technology from the Pakistan Swedish Institute of Technology. Throughout his profession, Naveed has been actively engaged in community service, serving as vice chairman of the Karachi Christian Boys Association and representing the Catholic Youth Commission of Pakistan on the World Youth Day in Toronto in 2002.
He has also worked with the Pakistan Christian Congress specializing in educational initiatives and profession counseling for the youth in his community. Despite facing personal challenges and discrimination, Naveed has remained rooted in Karachi’s Akhtar Colony, where he was born, got married, and raised his children. His commitment to his community and identity shines through, emphasizing his dedication to representing and living among the many people he serves.
Naveed’s political journey began in 2005 when the PPP gave him a ticket in Karachi’s local government election. He contested as a vice-chairman from his native Akhtar Colony. He went on to turn into a special assistant to the Sindh chief minister in 2016. In 2018, the PPP selected him as a reserved seat candidate within the Sindh Assembly where he was the lone Christian legislator.
“I’m grateful to the PPP leadership, especially [party chief] Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, for nominating me for this coveted position,” Naveed told Christian Daily International on the phone from Karachi.
“The PPP is the one political party that’s taking concrete steps to guard the rights of all minorities, including the Christian community, and empowering them socially, politically and economically,” he said.
As the custodian of the home, Naveed said he would try his best to make use of this chance to lobby the support of the bulk lawmakers to handle the challenges facing the religious minorities of the province.
Lauding the PPP’s decision to nominate and elect Naveed, Christian rights activists said this could assist in alleviating the sense of deprivation within the marginalized community.
“It’s good to see Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari fulfilling his promise of giving religious minorities an equal opportunity to grow within the socio-political sphere. By nominating Anthony Naveed, the PPP has lived as much as the expectations of the minority communities and we hope that the opposite mainstream political parties will follow its example,” said Minorities Alliance Pakistan Chairman Akmal Bhatti.
Rights activist Napolean Qayyum also welcomed Naveed’s election and said this had paved the way in which for the political mainstreaming of the Christian community.
“We hope that every one political parties would also consider giving tickets to their Christian members for contesting the election on general seats in constituencies where we now have a sizeable vote bank. Christian legislators can be in a greater position to unravel the issues facing their communities because they understand the problems significantly better than their Muslim counterparts,” he said.
