PESHAWAR: Participants of a dialogue on `legal and social discrimination against religious minorities` on Friday called for establishing a provincial commission of minorities on the pattern of national commission so as to address the issues and problems being faced by the minority communities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The discussion was organised by PE AD Foundation in collaboration with Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) underthe project `joint social action for equal rights and opportunities` here at a local hotel.

According to a statement, KP Directorate of Human Rights deputy director Malik Maqsood Ali, Maulana Mufti Ghousal Kabir, PEAD programme manager Tariq Hayat, representatives of Christian, Hindu and Sikh faiths Haroon Sarbdiyal, Augustan Jacob, Charan Jeet Singh, advocate Shaukat Ghulam, district council member Silas Gill and others shared their views during the session.

Mr Sarbdlyal said that the govern-ment should carry out census so that the actual population of the province, including that of minorities, could be determined. He said that this would facilitate formulation of proper policies.

Augustan Jacob said that the government`s actions did not match its words regarding implementation of quota for minorities in both the educational institutions and other departments. He said that there were several departments where no vacancy existed for minorities.

Mr Shaukat said that there was a strong need for addressing issues oflegal and politico-social discrimination being faced by minorities in the province. `There is no seat for minority students in the Islamia College University and same is the case with professional colleges and universities where hardly a single seat is allocated to them,` he said.

Mr Maqsood said that the directorate was striving to safeguard the rights of citizens, including minorities and women. He said that a toll-free helpline would soon be established at the provincial level and the directorate would provide all possible support to the aggrieved people.