Minorities rights bill sails through parliament's joint session

• Commission to monitor implementation of minority rights.
• Body will have powers to probe rights violations, independently.
• Bill do not contain anything contrary to Quran, Sunnah: law minister.

The joint session of parliament on Tuesday passed the National Commission for Minorities Rights Bill, 2025 seeking to safeguard the rights of non-Muslims in the country.

The legislation, passed with 160 votes in favour while 79 lawmakers voted against it, was tabled by Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.

The development comes months after a consensus was reached back in September last year with the draft bill finalised following a meeting in Aiwan-e-Sadr and was forwarded to the parliament's joint session.

The bill seeks to establish a statutory commission to safeguard the rights of religious minorities, ensuring their representation and protection from discrimination.

The commission, as reported by The News, will monitor implementation of minority rights, review relevant policies, and will have the powers to investigate rights violations, independently.

This legislation reflects a significant step towards fulfilling constitutional guarantees and international commitments to minority rights in Pakistan.

The proposed commission will include representatives from all provinces and minority communities, promoting inclusivity and effective oversight.

Expanding on its content, Tarar clarified that it did not contain anything contrary to the Quran and Sunnah and urged that there should be no politics on it.

Thanking Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman for the amendments suggested by his party's lawmakers, the law minister called for protecting the rights of non-Muslims. He said our Constitution also provides for the rights of non-Muslims.

Recalling that in 2014 the Supreme Court had issued directives to form a commission that works for the rights of non-Muslims, Tarar said that the commission to be established under this bill provides a platform to the non-Muslims to send their grievances to the government for redressal. 

With JUI-F's Senator Kamran Murtaza calling for the abolishment of Section 35 of the proposed bill, his party chief Fazl remarked that there was no issue concerning minorities as "we all have the same thought on it".

Fazl further expressed his concerns regarding the recently passed 27th Constitutional Amendment and other legislation passed by the ruling coalition.

"Just think about the legislation that has been enacted today. You have declared Sharia marriage before the age of 18 as sexual assault," he said, adding that the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has rejected those regarding transgender individuals.

"At the beginning, you wrote that it is a requirement of the United Nations. Have you taken the oath of the Constitution of Pakistan or the UN?" questioned the politician while stressing that his opposition to legislation was legitimate, not emotionally driven.

Lamenting that no one was taken into confidence regarding the 27th Constitutional Amendment, Fazl recalled that former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had a two-thirds majority but decided to hold consultations and that even in the case of the 18th Amendment, nine-month-long discussions were held.

"This did not happen in the 27th Amendment. This [27th] amendment will be as controversial..," the JUI-F chief noted and said that efforts should be made to ensure that the Constitution is not made controversial.