ISLAMABAD: Speakers at a consultation on Monday stressed the need for various steps to ensure participation of marginalised groups in political process and one of the participants even proposed special wings for persons with disabilities in political parties.

They were speaking at a consultation on `The political participation and electoral empowerment of marginalised groups in Pakistan`.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan`s (HRCP) council member Farhatullah Babar urged an increase in women`s seats in the legislature, noting that women legislators` actual participation had exceeded the arbitrary 5 percent quota allocated.

Mr Babar emphasised easing cumbersome CNIC registration requirements for women, persons with disabilities and nonMuslim minorities, a matter seconded by the Director General for Inclusive Registration at the National Database and Registration Authority Reema Aftab.

President of the Potohar Mental Health Association Zulgarnain Asghar underscored inaccessibility at polling stations for persons with disabilities, stressing that a variety of disabilities must be catered to instead of simply providing wheelchairs or other token efforts.

According to minority rights activist Jennifer Jagjiwan, theelectoral process must be re-evaluated from a lens of representation and recognition, and political parties must make efforts to raise religious minorities` issues in their internal forums.

Member of the National Democratic Movement and former senator Afrasiab Khattak agreed to this proposal, stating that all political parties must take collective responsibility and work towards representing marginalised groups adequately.Gaps in population data were also discussed. Trans activist Nayyab Ali highlighted how transgender people were undercounted in the 2017 census; among those counted only 18 percent were documented. Joint census commissioner for the Federal Bureau of Statistics Qazi Ismatullah agreed that census data must include minorities, persons with disabilities and transgender people.

Awami Workers Party`s DrAasim Sajjad Akhtar added that the current electoral system was skewed towards higher income groups and that there should be a system of proportional representation for marginalised groups.

The Election Commission of Pakistan`s Director General for Gender Nyghat Siddique said that the commission had implemented ceiling budgets for election campaigns, and other checks and balances are steadily being devised.