E/CN.4/1996/95/Add.1 page 6 make the following oath "I, ..., do solemnly swear that I am a Muslim and believe in the Unity and Oneness of Almighty Allah, the Books of Allah, the Holy Quran being the last of them, the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the last of the Prophets and that there can be no Prophet after him, the Day of Judgement, and all the requirements and teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah ... that I will strive to preserve the Islamic Ideology which is the basis for the creation of Pakistan ...". Under article 49 (4), the Prime Minister has to make the same oath. 18. The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly or the Deputy Chairman must state in his oath: "... that I will strive to preserve the Islamic Ideology, which is the basis for the creation of Pakistan ...". (ii) Electoral system 19. Under the Constitution, elections to the National Assembly, provincial assemblies and local authorities are conducted with separate electoral rolls for Muslims and non-Muslims. Muslims are authorized to vote only for Muslim candidates, and non-Muslims may only vote for non-Muslims. A small number of seats are reserved for non-Muslims (see arts. 51, 2A and 106.3 of the Constitution). 20. According to the authorities, this split electoral system guarantees political representation for minorities despite their small number. According to non-governmental sources, the system affects the political rights of non-Muslim communities and bases citizenship on religion, going against the notion of citizenship free of any distinction whatever, including religion. (b) The case of the Ahmadis 21. The Ahmadis, who were declared a non-Muslim minority in 1974 and were affected by the legislation established with Ordinance XX of 1984, appealed to the courts against the way they were being treated. On 3 July 1993, the Supreme Court issued a judgement in which it interpreted the reference to the law in article 20 of the Constitution on religious freedom as a reference to Islamic law. It also found that any claim by Ahmadis to be Muslims constituted a provocation against Muslims, which made it difficult to ensure their protection. 2. Other legal provisions (a) Mention of religion on identity cards and passports (i) Identity cards 22. With regard to the previous Government’s plan to introduce the mention of a holder’s religion on identity cards, the Special Rapporteur was informed that the idea had been shelved in November 1992 following very strong opposition by the minorities, including the Christians. Some concern was expressed that the plan might be revived in the future. Nevertheless, as

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