LAHORE: The minorities representatives and others working for their rights have objected to the creation of “an ad-hoc committee” approved by the federal cabinet instead of constitution of the National Commission on Minorities (NMC) through an act of parliament, as the government had pledged before the apex court.

“In its submission to the Supreme Court of Pakistan on February 19, 2020, the Ministry for Religious Affairs has noted that the National Commission on Minorities (NCM) will be constituted through an Act of Parliament. However, the cabinet did exactly the opposite by approving the creation of an ad-hoc committee,” said Mr Peter Jacob, Executive Director of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), at a press conference held at the Lahore Press Club on Wednesday.

Mr Jacob is also the chairperson of the Peoples Commission on Minority Rights (PCMR). He is supported by several rights’ groups, lawyers, academics and civil society activists in the demand for setting up a commission which is backed by the parliament.

“This is a deliberate aberration from intent of the original judgment in 2014 and pledge made in the court, therefore tantamount to contempt of court,” Mr Jacob maintained.

“We will surely challenge the cabinet decision in the Supreme Court.”

Eminent human rights’ lawyer and former UN Special Rapporteur Ms Hina Jillani, as well as former chairperson of the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), Ms Khawar Mumtaz, argued that a commission on the minorities would only be effective if it was created just like the other national commissions, through an act of parliament. Only then it would be independent and have any authority, they said, adding that without the commission ‘legally existing’ there would be no point in forming an ad hoc body having no powers, authority or mandate.

Academic Dr Yaqoob Bangash added that the ad hoc commission on minorities was first constituted under a resolution of the federal cabinet in 1990. Since then it had been constituted several times, but it did not meet more than once every year, and remained without any effect or impact.

“If the force of law is not behind a commission, it is equal to just a social meeting,” Dr Bangash argued.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2020