Lahore (AsiaNews) – Without a homeland, without citizenship, they live like slaves, working for a dollar and a half a day: this is the plight of nearly 2,000 Muslim and Christian families on the border between India and Pakistan. To meet their needs and to identify solutions, the conference of high-ranking leaders of Pakistan's Justice and Peace Commission (MSLCP) called a meeting on 17 June at the Maria settlement in Kasur, 2km from the Indian border and 55km south of Lahore. Christian and Muslim representatives participated in the meeting.

The inhabitants of Kasur zone – who still bear the brunt of terrible 1998 floods which destroyed homes and means of livelihood – work all day as hired farm hands or tending others' cattle for a miserable pay. Before the clashes between India and Pakistan in 1965, a regular train service in the area linked the two countries. When the service was terminated, thousands of people set up home on the rail tracks. As they do not have resident status, the government often does not bother to provide them with power supply: around 2,000 Muslim and Christian families in the area are deprived of this and other basic services.

A number of well-known religious figures participated in the meeting. Fr Abib Habib OFM, commission coordinator for Lahore region, emphasised the importance of guaranteeing competitive education to these people's children. MSLCP animator in Lahore, Nadeem Anthony, said it is crucial to encourage residents of the area to participate as voters in political elections slated for August this year. He explained that in order to vote one must have a national identity card (NIC) and be registered by name for the ballot. "If there are many voters in the area, electoral candidates themselves will come forward to offer help to solve their problems, to ask for their vote," he said.

Pervez Bashir, a local catechist, said those tending others' cattle worked all day and often received only 100 Pakistani rupees per day (around 1.65 US dollars): the amount is barely sufficient for personal upkeep and such men are often constrained to take out loans to maintain their families.

Muslim leader, Imtiaz Ahmed, lawyer and head of the Pakistani Labour Party, reiterated that a united front is necessary to obtain adequate wages and just living conditions. He added that many residents of the area are considered as refugees following the 1998 floods, but now that they have been settled for a number of years, they have the possibility to ask for resident status and related advantages, like electricity.

Sohail Anwar, animator in Kasur parish for the Lahore-based Pakistani Caritas, said a sewing centre was opened on 3 July 2004 so "women may make clothes for their families and save". Fr Inayat Bernard, a priest in the local parish, closed the meeting, underlining the importance of holding such meetings frequently as well as the need of sending children to government schools to guarantee their education. (IB)