LAHORE          -      Punjab Chief Minister Ch Parvez Elahi Tuesday cut the cake along with the Sikhs and religious minority members at a ceremony held at his office to mark the birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak. Parvez Elahi congratulated the Sikh community on the auspicious occasion and said that three million rupees have been allocated for the welfare of the Sikh community on the occasion of Baba Guru Nanak's birthday. About 10,000 rupees per person will be provided for the treatment of differently-abled persons, orphans, widows and sick people of the Sikh community; he explained and noted that Baba Guru Nanak's birthday is an occasion to rejoice for the Sikh community. The CM mentioned that Baba Guru Nanak impressed people with his good morals and immaculate character. Not only the Sikh community but also people of other faiths look up to Baba Guru Nanak and his teachings have an aspect of reformation and religious harmony, he added. The CM asserted that the rights that the minorities have in Pakistan and the conducive atmosphere of societal tolerance that exists in Pakistan, cannot be imagined in India. Religious minorities have the fullest freedom to perform religious rituals and the Punjab government was following the policy of providing equal opportunities for employment and education to the minority communities, he further said. He informed that a quota was being given to the minority communities in higher education institutions and jobs. “In the educational scholarship scheme, 50 percent of scholarships were given to central Punjab, 35 percent to south Punjab and 15 percent to north Punjab. Scholarships are given to minority students securing 50 percentmarks from matric to higher education”; he explained and said that funds were spent for the development of minority communities' areas. Alongside this, funds have also been allocated for the festivals of the minority communities, he said, adding that all these measures were aimed at providing equal opportunities including education and development, to religious minorities so that they could play their full role in national development.