Majlis-e-Shoora passes legislative proposal for rights of minorities

Islamabad (APP):The Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) on Tuesday passed the National Commission for Minorities Rights Bill, 2025 during a joint sitting, marking a significant legislative step toward establishing a statutory body for the protection of minority rights in Pakistan.

 

The bill was moved by Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar under clause (2) of Article 75 of the Constitution after being returned by the President. The bill was passed with majority votes as 160 lawmakers supported it.

 

Speaking in the House, the minister said that “No clause in the bill contradicts Quran and Sunnah.”

 

The minister stressed that the legislation contained nothing contrary to the Quran and Sunnah and reaffirmed that neither the government nor the Constitution would ever allow any contradiction. He informed the House that all four amendments submitted by religious scholars had already been incorporated into the final draft.

 

“Nothing in this law overrides existing laws or court judgments. This commission is strictly for non-Muslim citizens as defined in the Constitution,” he said, adding that any group not accepting its constitutional status “automatically falls outside the ambit of this commission,” he added.

 

The Minister said the bill had undergone thorough scrutiny—first by the National Assembly Standing Committee, which included active participation from minority MNAs and then by the Senate, where Senator Ali Zafar chaired over six weeks of deliberations.

 

Azam Tarar emphasized that the government had proceeded with “full caution and responsibility,” ensuring protections for minorities.

He reminded the House that the bill had been pending for 14 years, despite a landmark 2014 Supreme Court judgment urging the creation of a statutory commission for minority rights.

 

“For fourteen years this issue has waited. Please do not make politics for the sake of politics,” he urged. “If there is even a single word here against the honour of our beloved Prophet (?), point it out. Our lives are devoted to him.”

 

Azam Tarar underlined that the proposed commission would not possess punitive powers, describing it instead as a platform enabling

minority citizens to raise grievances directly with the state.

 

“Our Christian, Hindu, Parsi, Sikh, and other non-Muslim brothers and sisters deserve a forum to address issues – whether forced conversions, job quotas, sanitation workers’ rights, or other matters of dignity,” he said.

 

The minister thanked several parliamentarians for their contributions, including Molana Fazal ur Rahman, Senator Kamran Murtaza, MNA Aliya Kamran, and minority representatives such as Keso Mal kheal Das, Dr. Darshan, senator Khalil Tahir Sandhu, Senator Danesh Kumar,  Nalson Azeem, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, and JUI-F’s minority MNA from Peshawar.

 

Speaking on the occasion, MNA Amir Jeeva expressed gratitude to the Law Ministry and all parliamentary parties for supporting a long-standing demand of religious minorities.

 

He recalled introducing earlier versions of the bill on July 6, 2024 and February 18, 2025, saying that today’s approval represented the culmination of years of advocacy.

 

“Those who attempted to politicize this cause have only harmed a vulnerable community. But today Parliament has fulfilled a long-awaited promise,” he said.