ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Religious Affairs on Monday took serious note of a resolution by the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) which rejected the recommendations of the parliamentary body.

Chaired by Shagufta Jumani, the committee was briefed by one of its members, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) Ali Mohammad Khan about the progress made on several bills forwarded by the MNAs regarding the structure of the minorities’ rights commission.

The committee was informed that the existing National Commission for Minorities was established in 1990 through an executive order. Headed by the minister for religious affairs, its legal status is still not clear nor has the government framed any rules for it.

Three bills were presented in the National Assembly in this regard. All named the Commission for Minorities Bill 2015, the bills were moved by MNAs Belum Hasnain, Lal Chand Malhi and Sanjay Parwani. A government bill is also being prepared.

PTI’s Ali Mohammad Khan is the convenor of the subcommittee formed to merge the four bills and the subcommittee had directed the Ministry of Religious Affairs to merge the bills in consultation with the MNAs.

He said: “Instead of discussing the merger of the bills, the so-called NCM held a meeting recently and declared that it did not approve the recommendations of the sub-committee.”

“This is an insult for parliament. How can a body simply disapprove the deliberations of a parliamentary body,” he asked.

Addressing officials of the ministry, he said: “What were the recommendations of the subcommittee? None. So what did you turn down and how can you turn them down. Are you the 111 Brigade, taking directions to bulldoze parliament?”

He said this is a coup by the bureaucracy against efforts to have a law for the establishment of a commission for non-Muslim Pakistanis.

Lal Chand Malhi criticised the bureaucracy and the committee for delaying the matter since 2015 when he had moved the bill.

The committee approved a resolution that rejected NCM’s move and it was decided that the subcommittee headed by Ali Mohammad Khan will finalise its recommendations on April 27.

The committee also recommended that the government appoint a regular head for the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) as it was noted that the board was facing several operational issues without a head.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2018