ISLAMABAD: Dr Helen Mary Roberts, serving in the Pakistan Army Medical Corps, has made history by becoming the first woman from the Christian and minority community to achieve the rank of brigadier in the Muslim-majority country.
Brigadier Helen was among Pakistan Army officers promoted as brigadiers and full colonels by the Selection Board, The News reported on Sunday.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Helen on her promotion to Brigadier, saying the whole nation was proud of her and thousands of hardworking women like her from minority communities who are serving the country with distinction.
“I myself and the nation congratulate Brig Helen Mary Roberts on getting the honour of the first female from minority to be promoted as Brigadier in the Pakistan Army,” he said.
Brigadier Dr Helen is a senior pathologist and has been serving in the Pakistan Army for the last 26 years.
During a Christmas celebration at Christ Church in Rawalpindi last year, Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir commended the role played by the minority community in the country’s development.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar has advocated for judges from minority communities to join Pakistan’s higher judiciary.
Speaking at the Justice A R Cornelius Conference held here on Saturday, Tarar emphasised the importance of religious freedom and minority rights in Pakistan and expressed his aspiration for judges from minority communities to join the country’s higher judiciary, the Express Tribune newspaper reported on Sunday.
The minister highlighted that Pakistan’s Constitution guarantees complete religious freedom. At the same time, he lamented the decline in religious tolerance post-Afghan war.
Tarar talked about the ongoing efforts to establish a Minority Rights Commission and proposed reserving quotas for minority law officers and legal advisors.
Supreme Court Justice Mansoor Ali Shah echoed Tarar’s sentiments and advocated for the appointment of minority judges to the higher judiciary.
According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics in 2021, there are 96.47 per cent Muslims in the country, followed by 2.14 per cent Hindus, 1.27 per cent Christians, 0.09 per cent Ahmadi Muslims and 0.02 per cent others.
