Parliamentary committee discusses forced conversions

The Parliamentary Committee to Protect Minorities from Forced Conversions on Monday resolved that an administrative approach was needed to see where the grey areas regarding forced conversion were.

The committee meeting was chaired by Senator Dr Anwarul Haq Kakar at the Parliament House.

It was attended among others by Senators Dr Sikandar Mandhro, Rana Maqbool Ahmed, Nauman Wazir Khattak and Sajjad Hussain Turi, MNAs Jai Parkash, Lal Chand, Dr Ramesh Kumar, Dr Darshan, Ramesha Lal, Shinal Ruth, Naveed Amir Jeeva, Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan.

Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz and Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari briefed the meeting in relation to further discussion on the matter.

The committee deliberated on the interpretation of concept of Wali for non-Muslims in case of conversion and marriage.

The matter of having an internationally accepted definition of forced conversions was also discussed and guidance from the CII was also sought.

The committee members appreciated the fact that the issue was being deliberated upon in-depth and all stakeholders were recognising the issue. Seeing international best practices and proposed bills were also discussed.

The committee decided to visit Sindh early next month to have a better view of the on ground realities and carry out a fact-based situation analysis.

In 2019, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) reported that 1,000 minority girls were forcibly converted to Islam, majority of whom were Hindu.