ISLAMABAD - A parliamentary body on Monday unanimously passed “The Hindu Marriage Bill 2016” already cleared by the National Assembly that bars marriage of Hindu couples below the age of 18.

The Senate Committee on Human Rights - which met with Senator Nasreen Jalil in the chair – passed “The Hindu Marriage Bill 2016” – paving the way to table it in the Senate for approval. 

After the bill is passed by the Senate, “the Hindu Marriage Bill, 2016” will become a law.

The meeting was attended by senators Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldini, Sitara Ayaz, Aitzaz Ahsan, Mufti Abdul Sattar, Nisar Muhammad, and Dr Ashok Kumar.

Besides, some Hindu lawmakers and senators including Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, Dr Ashok Kumar, Dr Darshan Kumar and Sanjay Perwani also attended as special invitees.

The proposed law will enable the members of the Hindu community to register their marriages and appeal in courts on separation issues.

The widows belonging to the Hindu community will also be allowed to remarry, after passage of six months since their husband’s death.

There will be penalties, if the provisions of the bills are violated.

Under the proposed law, the Hindus will have a shadiparat (marriage paper), similar to the nikah nama (marriage contract) for Muslims to serve as a documentary proof.

The new law will be implemented across Pakistan except in Sindh, which already has a separate Hindu marriage law.

Most of the Hindus migrated to India after partition but they still make around 1.6 per cent of the country’s 190 million population.

Until now, their marriages were not registered.

The other main religious minority in the country, Christians, have a 1870 British law that regulates their marriages.

Ramesh Kumar Vankwani said that the passing of the bill by the Senate body was a new year’s gift to the Hindus.

He said that the Hindus would now feel their importance.

“Their citizenship right has been accepted.  They are now first-grade citizens of Pakistan,” Vankwani said.

Opposition leader in the Senate Aitzaz Ahsan said that the minorities had equal rights in Pakistan. 

“They have a right to live according to their religion. Islam gives freedom to non-Muslims. Sharia law is totally different from the Hindu law,” he said.

The Senate Committee on Human Rights also expressed grave concern over the impunity with which some banned militant organisations continue to operate in the country.

The committee demanded zero tolerance for banned organisations and called for implementation of the Justice Faiz Isa report on the Quetta carnage in letter and spirit.

Taking up the issue of protection being given to some banned outfits, Senator Farhatullah Babar questioned the rationale behind protecting Jaish-e-Muhammad Chief Maulana Masood Azhar from sanctions by the UN.

He said that the Chinese government would not have stepped in to protect the Jaish unless the government of Pakistan had so asked.

“We need to know why an outfit that is banned in Pakistan as a militant organisation should be protected from sanctions by the UN,” Babar said, and demanded that the government come out clean on it.

This dichotomy and ambivalence raised serious questions about what we say and do, he said.

The committee decided to ask for clarification from the government on the issue.

The committee also expressed surprise over the response of the interior ministry to the question as to why the National Counter-Terrorism Authority board of governors had not met even once during the past over two years.

In reply to a question about the NCTA board meetings not being held, the interior minister had said that the question be asked from the prime minister and not from him.

He said that the issue had been partially addressed through the NCTA Amendment Bill that was passed by the Senate Committee on Interior in May last year but there was no further progress on it.

The committee directed the interior ministry to pursue the NCTA Amendment Bill to address the issue.

The National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR) Chairperson Ali Nawaz Chohan informed the committee that a central character behind the recent attack on Ahmadis’ place of worship in Dulmial in Chakwal was a Canadian of Pakistani origin who was still at large.

He disclosed that the NCHR had already written a letter to the Canadian High Commission in Islamabad about the involvement of the Canadian national in the incident.

The committee asked for the resettlement of those who have left their homes and also compensation to the victims.

Under the “any other agenda item” Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the space for workers and labour to form unions was shrinking by the day, and today more than 90 per cent of workers had no right to form unions.

He called for it to be taken up as a separate agenda item in the next meeting.

The committee decided to take up the issue of labour rights and formation of unions by them in the next meeting to which the representatives of labour would also be invited.

The committee also decided to take up the issue of non-payment of stipend and training costs to service providers for the Waseelae Rozagar (source of employment) programme under the Benazir Income Support Programme.