KARACHI: A legal aid cell and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Friday proposed amendments to laws which “discriminate against religious minorities” in Pakistan. This was stated at a press conference held at the Karachi Press Club.

Zohra Yusuf, the HRCP chief, said the AGHS Legal Aid Cell comprised of leading human rights lawyers who had worked for a prolonged period and examined all the laws of the Centre and the provinces vis-a-vis discrimination against the religious minorities and compiled its recommendations.

She said the recommendations would be formally published and publicised shortly.

Regarding major revisions to federal and provincial laws affecting religious minorities, they said a law should be enacted to criminalise incitement to violence on the basis of religion. “It should be worded in line with Article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which says: Any advocacy of sectarian or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to violence shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment of up to 10 years or fine up to Rs2,500,000 or both.”

They said through an amendment to Rule 7 of the National Database Rules, 2007, the marriage certificate issued by Hindu Panchayat should be recognised as a valid document for the purposes of issuance of certificate/national identity card under the rules.

Another recommendation proposed that the Evacuee Trust Properties (Management and Disposal) Act, 1975 be repealed as a whole and evacuee properties be handed over to the recognised religious or community-based institutions/organisations of the relevant religious minorities.

“Until the above is done, religious minorities should be represented on the Evacuee Trust Property Board and the chairman should be from such minorities.”

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2017