A federal ministerial committee in Pakistan reviewing a bill that would create a National Commission for Minorities (NCM) seeks to make it financially and administratively autonomous to safeguard rights for religious minorities.
The review committee comprises Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs and Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Rana Sanaullah Khan, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Federal Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal.
Addressing a meeting at the Ministry for Religious Affairs in Islamabad on Wednesday (Dec. 4), Tarar emphasized urged timely completion of the bill. He stressed that the NCM must be independent of ministerial pressure and political interference to effectively safeguard minorities’ rights, according to a statement issued by the Ministry for Religious Affairs. The committee directed the Ministry of Law and Justice to incorporate amendments related to the subcommittee on the NCM.
The ministerial committee also reviewed the interfaith harmony policy and measures for promoting religious tolerance. It added that the Ministry of Religious Affairs was directed to present the final draft of the policy within a week. After the committee’s approval, the policy will be submitted to the federal cabinet for approval.
The government formed the review committee after a Hindu treasury member, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, submitted a private members’ bill, National Commission for Minorities Bill 2024, in the National Assembly on April 2. Civil society organizations, including Christian groups, have vehemently criticized the proposed legislation, calling it “weak and flawed.”
“Instead of making NCM a religious body, the government must provide a strong legal basis for an independent, autonomous and effective institution,” said Professor Dr. A.H. Nayyar, a member of the Pakistan Minorities Rights Commission. “It should be established in line with the other national commissions on human rights, child rights and women’s rights constituted through acts of parliament in Pakistan to ensure its independence.”
The first formal NCM was established in May 2020 and completed its tenure in May 2023. Delays in the bill’s passage, however, have prevented the formation of a new commission.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court (SC) separately established another minorities’ commission in January 2019, headed by Dr. Shoaib Suddle. This one-member commission was formed to implement the apex court’s 2014 landmark verdict on protecting minority rights. This commission, however, also has failed to serve its purpose.
Addressing a conference on minority rights after Aug. 16, 2023 attacks on Christians in Jaranwala, Dr. Suddle expressed his “helplessness” in getting the SC’s order implemented. The situation for religious minorities won’t change without changing the national mindset and society’s attitude, he stated.
“I don’t want to be pessimistic, but it is a reality that we might not be able to come out of the [prevailing] situation,” he said, blaming the bureaucracy for not giving due importance to minorities’ rights.
Ejaz Augustine, a Christian lawmaker in Punjab Province, said the SC-mandated commission’s failure highlighted the need for a statutory national commission for minorities’ rights.
“Since 1990, ad-hoc NCMs were formed under the Federal Ministry for Religious Affairs through executive orders,” Augustine said. “These commissions failed to make any significant progress toward policy reforms and address violations of minorities’ rights due to their limited mandate, lack of independence, powers, and insufficient resources.”
Only a fully empowered NCM can help in protecting the vulnerable religious minorities, otherwise there’s little hope for improvement, he added.
“Instead of including CII and Religious Affairs Ministry in the proposed NCM, I would urge the review committee to add representatives from the National Commission for Human Rights, National Commission on the Status of Women, and National Commission on the Rights of Child, to enhance cooperation among human rights institutions and avoid redundancy,” said Augustine, who has previously served as the minister for human rights and minorities affairs in Punjab.
Non-Muslims constitute about 3 percent of Pakistan’s estimated population of 240 million people. Minority communities, including Christians, complain of facing discrimination in nearly all walks of life and regularly come under attack by extremist groups. They are also targeted with blasphemy law, which is punishable by death in the South Asian nation.
Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year.
