About

About Us

Peter John Sahotra was born in a humble family. His father and grandfather were builders and his granddad also participated in building a new town called tyallpur (now Faisalabad in Pakistan) where he later decided to reside there with his family. Mr P. Sahotra lost his father when he was a young child, his mother decided to send him to school to achieve higher education, He completed his initial studies in Faisalabad and then went to Lahore for a LLB degree. During his time of education, he studied extremely hard and worked part time to support his studies. He also taught in a Christian primary school to give education to most some of the deprived children in the society. Mr. Sahotra was married to Mrs Agnes who was a primary school teacher. They have four daughters and two sons.

Mr Sahotra was Pakistan's first Christian Member of Parliament elected to be a Minister of Minorities Affairs in 1990

Mr Sahotra had a passion to fight injustice for the cause of the most vulnerable members of the community. This deep heartfelt passion lead Mr Sahotra to become interested in politics and was elected as a councillor in 1979 & 1983. He progressed to become a Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) and then a Member of National Assembly (MNA) in 1988, 1990 and also 1997. He was Pakistan’s first Christian member of Parliament, who was then elected to be a minister of Minorities Affairs in 1990.
During his political career, he served as a voice for the voiceless and fought for the basic rights of people who where especially from minority backgrounds. He used his influence and power to establish essential utilities (fresh piped water, electricity and gas to homes) to the most deprived communities who were living in rural areas of the country (Thal desert, Jauharabad and Khushab district, but to name a few). He also used (Govemment funds to build and secure places of worship for Christians and people from other minority religions, such as Sikh and Hindu.
In the year 2000 along with his family, he had to flee Pakistan (because of the martial law that was imposed) for their safety and took refuge in UK. However, his passion to fight injustice did not wear off and in the year 2005 he founded an organisation called Voice For the Voiceless’ (VFV). He witnessed first-hand the hardship of people (especially from South Asia) who were fleeing their countries and taking refuge in the UK, Through VFV, he helped and advocated for people during their asylum cases and helped them integrate in the community to become an effective part of the wider community.
Sadly, Mr Sahotra passed away in 2013 after suffering a little while with lung disease. In 2014, the name of the organisation (VFV) was changed to Peter John
Sahotra Foundation in his loving memory.
During his political career, he served as a voice for the voiceless and fought for the basic rights of people who where especially from minority backgrounds. He used his influence and power to establish essential utilities (fresh piped water, electricity and gas to homes) to the most deprived communities who were living in rural areas of the country (Thal desert, Jauharabad and Khushab district, but to name a few). He also used (Govemment funds to build and secure places of worship for Christians and people from other minority religions, such as Sikh and Hindu.