Pakistan’s parliament approves diluted National Commission for Minorities law, excluding Ahmadis and stripping suo motu powers, drawing sharp criticism from rights groups.
Newsroom (03/12/2025 Gaudium Press ) Pakistan’s parliament on December 2 approved a revised National Commission for Minorities Act, six months after President Asif Ali Zardari returned an earlier version that would have granted the body independent investigative powers.
The new 18-member commission is tasked with safeguarding religious minorities by probing rights violations, monitoring government policies, advising state institutions, and promoting minority welfare. However, the final legislation removes key authorities included in the May 12 draft, including the right to summon witnesses, inspect detention facilities, or launch suo motu inquiries.
Composition of the commission includes three Hindus (two explicitly from lower-caste backgrounds), three Christians, one Sikh, one Baha’i, one Parsee, and two Muslim human rights experts. Each of Pakistan’s four provinces will nominate one representative from its human rights or minorities affairs department, plus one minority member from the federal capital Islamabad. All appointments will be made by the Prime Minister for renewable three-year terms.
During Senate debate, Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar stated the commission’s mandate deliberately excludes “mischief-makers or those who do not consider themselves non-Muslims,” an apparent reference to the Ahmadiyya community, which Pakistan’s constitution classifies as non-Muslim despite the community’s self-identification as Muslim.
Ahmadiyya representatives condemned both the explicit exclusion and the tone of parliamentary proceedings. “Opposition and even government benches targeted one community and made hate speeches in the National Assembly. What kind of rights will be protected like this?” said Amir Mehmood, a community spokesman, adding that no consultation took place with Ahmadi representatives.
Prominent Hindu leader Jaipal Chhabria criticized the designation of seats for “lower-caste” Hindus and the inclusion of Muslim members. “They are just poor Hindus, not a different religion. And why Muslims in a commission for religious minorities? This is injustice,” Chhabria told UCA News on December 3, demanding merit-based rather than caste- or faith-based selection.
The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) welcomed the creation of the body but insisted it must protect all religious minorities “equally, without exception or hierarchy” and fully align with constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and non-discrimination.
Naeem Yousaf Gill, executive director of the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), offered guarded support while warning that prime-ministerial discretion in appointments and overlapping legal frameworks would continue to obstruct justice. He described the initiative as an attempt by an “autocratic government” to operate within a “paralyzed democracy.”
The legislation emerges against a backdrop of broader concerns over democratic erosion. In November, parliament passed the controversial 27th Constitutional Amendment, extending extraordinary powers and lifetime legal immunity to Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and creating a new Federal Constitutional Court with authority rivaling the Supreme Court.
Christians, Hindus, and Sikhs together constitute roughly 4 percent of Pakistan’s 241.5 million population and have long reported systemic discrimination, forced conversions, poverty, and restricted access to education and employment, leaving them particularly vulnerable to rights abuses.
Minority advocates and human rights watchers now question whether the commission—in its current form—can deliver meaningful protection or will remain largely symbolic.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from UCA News
Related Images:
