Pakistan activists clamor for powerful minority panel

Islamabad: Human rights activists in Pakistan have condemned the delay in making a law to guarantee the autonomy of the minorities commission before the current parliament ends its term in August.

“There is a clear lack of political will on the part of the government and political parties. The commission is being ignored,” said

Albert David, a former member of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM).

Religious minorities, including Catholics, denounced the commission, whose term ended in May, as “toothless and sham” for failing to safeguard the interests of religious minorities.

International rights organizations too have raised concerns over the continued marginalization of religious minorities in the Muslim-majority South Asian nation.

In January, UN experts, while pointing to Pakistan’s failures to protect its religious minorities, deplored the ongoing lack of access to justice for victims of coerced religious conversions, forced and child marriages, and their families.

In 2020, the government set up the NCM, which completed its term in May.

David said the 2020 commission enjoyed “only a limited mandate” and it “lacked terms of references or legislative powers.”

“We couldn’t do anything significant and achieved little in the struggle against forced conversions,” David said.

He was speaking at a July 7 meeting discussing the challenges before the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) and the way forward organized by the Center for Social Justice.

Speakers urged the government to pass the long-delayed NCM bill before the National Assembly completes its constitutional term on Aug. 13.

The draft law, pending before the assembly, gives statutory power to the commission to protect the interest of religious minorities.

Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar on June 16 said that the government was not planning to extend the tenure of the national assembly and that the general elections would be held in October.

The 2020 commission included 12 members. It had two Muslim members, three members each from Hindu and Christian communities, two from the Sikh community and one each from the Parsi and Kalash communities.

Jaipal Chhabria, a Hindu member of the NCM, criticized the commission for being silent on minority issues.

“There was no willpower. Some tried to be in the good books of the government and cited Pakistan as the safest place to live and practice religion. Others avoided being controversial and avoided speaking of minority rights, hoping for government awards or better positions.”

“None of them supported my resolution against marriages of underage girls,” he told UCA News.

According to Chhabria, the commission was plagued by political appointments.

“NCM head was also the chairman of Rice Exporters’ Association Pakistan and had no experience in human rights,” Chhabria said.

In April, NCM members backed out of a protest that sought non-Muslim parliament members’ right to become president or prime minister of the country, he said.

In 2021, Archbishop Sebastian Shaw of Lahore resigned from NCM after complaining that the government body was still without a budget and powers to act.

In February, Minister for Finance Muhammad Ishaq Dar introduced the National Commission for Minorities Bill to hike the number of minority commission members from 12 to 29.

He suggested four Christians from different denominations and complete administrative and financial autonomy for the commission.

Dar proposed several requirements, including “ten years of demonstrable national or international working experience on human rights” to be appointed as chairperson and members.

Since 1990, the government has created several ad-hoc minority rights commissions under the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

However, they remained non-functional without statutory authority.