Protecting Minorities: NA panel suggests law on forced conversions

ISLAMABAD:

A parliamentary panel constituted to probe the alleged ‘exodus’ of Hindus from Pakistan to India has recommended legislating on forced religious conversions to address the concerns of the minority communities.

The committee was constituted by President Asif Ali Zardari after reports surfaced that over 200 Pakistani Hindus were planning to migrate to India. Pakistani officials had also stopped dozens of pilgrims from leaving for India on August 10 this year amid reports that they planned to migrate.

Presenting a gloomy picture of the Hindu community in the country, a 13-page report by the committee stated that it is the responsibility of the federal government to legislate on the issue and pass two acts of parliament.

The three-member committee was headed by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Maula Bux Chandio.

“An Act of Parliament against forced conversion [of] religion may be passed. An Act of Parliament for Hindu Marriage Registration may be passed,” stated the report, available with The Express Tribune.

Remedial measures

The report held local police officers, tribal chiefs and politicians responsible for not helping minorities recover their kidnapped community members.

Lawmakers also recommend the establishment of ‘safe homes’ in which to lodge abducted non-Muslim girls who are allegedly forced to convert to Islam. They recommend restoration of the Evacuee Property Trust to non-Muslims by appointing them as custodians of the property at both the federal and provincial level. The report also recommended more financial support, and introducing educational reforms for minorities’ education.

“The (minority communities’) issues … require immediate remedial measures,” the report stated.

“We ensured them [minorities] that their grievances shall be submitted before the President of Pakistan to ensure the protection of their rights as provided under Article 36 of the Constitution,” the report added.

On record

In recorded complaints, Hindus said their girls are being kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam. Besides passing the two aforementioned laws, Hindus also urged the government to implement the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929.

Lawmakers also quoted Hindus who complained that abduction of their skilled community members for ransom, and threats to their lives, are common and the police does not register their complaints.

Even the poor and illiterate Hindus, especially in lower Sindh, are not spared, complainants added, saying the police never bother with registering cases.

A member of the committee, MNA Dr Lal Chand Ukrani, hoped the president will direct the authorities to implement the recommendations.

“If our recommendations are taken seriously by the president, Pakistan will champion in the cause of minority rights,” Ukrani said.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 28^th, 2012.