ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s religious affairs minister reaffirmed the state’s commitment to equal rights for religious minorities, according to an official statement on Wednesday, while condemning Israeli military actions in Gaza during a government-hosted Holi celebration in Islamabad.

Speaking at the event organized by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf said that minorities in Pakistan enjoyed full constitutional freedoms and equal rights.

He described Pakistan as a peaceful country where all citizens are entitled to benefit from protections guaranteed under the law.

“Religious minorities are enjoying equal rights and complete freedom,” the minister said while addressing the ceremony. “They have clear representation in the Senate, National Assembly and provincial assemblies.”

The minister also highlighted state-backed welfare measures for minorities, including dedicated funds for the upkeep of religious sites, a five percent quota for minorities in public sector employment and reserved seats in educational institutions.

Yousaf also condemned Israeli actions in Gaza, reaffirming Pakistan’s longstanding support for Palestinian rights.

“Pakistan has always raised its voice in support of the rights of the Palestinian people,” he said.

In recent years, Pakistan has sought to promote religious inclusion and faith-based tourism, hosting Hindu and Sikh pilgrims from India and abroad, and welcoming visiting Buddhist monks.

Despite these efforts, rights groups note that religious minorities in the country continue to face episodes of discrimination and violence.

Also addressing the gathering, Minister of State for Religious Affairs Keso Mal Kheel Das emphasized the role of minorities in Pakistan’s development and prosperity.

He voiced concern over what he described as the silence of international human rights organizations in the face of violence against Muslims in Gaza and Indian-administered Kashmir.

The Holi celebration was also attended by prominent members of Pakistan’s minority communities, including women and children.

BEIJING: China is set to launch its Shenzhou-20 mission that will carry three astronauts to the Chinese space station Tiangong at 5.17 p.m. on Thursday local time (0917 GMT), state media said on Wednesday.

The main purpose of the mission is to complete the in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-19 crew which is scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site on April 29, China Manned Space Agency officials said at a press conference broadcast on CCTV.

The Shenzhou-20 spaceflight from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China will carry astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, CCTV said.

The spaceflight will be Chen Dong’s third and the first for the other two — a space engineer and a former air force pilot.

They will conduct space science and application experiments, install a space debris protection device as well as extravehicular payload and equipment, and perform recovery tasks.

The mission will also bring with it zebrafish, planarians and streptomyces as research objects to carry out three life science experiments at the space station.

The crew, scheduled to return to Earth in late October, can expect a resupply mission via the unmanned Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft.

The country’s fourth batch of astronauts set to participate in Shenzhou spaceflights is currently in training, featuring for the first time astronauts from China’s special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, as well as Pakistan.

The Hong Kong and Macau astronauts are likely to carry out their first mission as early as 2026, state media reported.

China said the selection of the Pakistani astronauts is underway. Both countries signed an agreement for space cooperation in February.

One of the two Pakistani astronauts that will join the Chinese missions is set to focus on payloads and scientific research aboard China’s space station.