Joint parliament session approves National Commission for Minority Rights Bill
Pakistan
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said this is a bill for minority rights and it will not benefit “prisoner number 804.”
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The joint session of Parliament approved the motion for the National Commission for the Rights of Minorities, with 160 members voting in favour and 79 against.
The Pakistan People's Party supported the motion; however, PPP’s Qadir Patel opposed it and left the House. Senator Abdul Qadir and Aimal Wali Khan also opposed the bill.
Opposition parties raised strong slogans. Due to the intense sloganeering, the speaker and the law minister wore headphones.
On the occasion, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said this is a bill for minority rights and it will not benefit “prisoner number 804.” He termed it a very important law and said the definition of minorities has been clearly explained.
The clause-by-clause passage of the National Commission for the Rights of Minorities Bill 2025 has begun.
Proceedings of the session
Earlier, the joint session of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), chaired by Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, began with Azam Nazeer Tarar presenting the motion to take up the National Commission for the Rights of Minorities Bill.
After tabling the motion, the law minister said the commission is for non-Muslims, and the Supreme Court had ruled in 2014 to establish such a commission; therefore, the issue should not be politicized.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said such laws should not be brought if they could be misused, questioning why Parliament was moving in this direction.
The law minister said the purpose of establishing the commission is to protect the rights of minority communities. He added that a Supreme Court judgment from 10 years ago directed the creation of a special commission for minority rights, and after a decade, the legal bill has been presented in a joint session.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar said that according to the agenda, seven laws are to be passed today. He added that minorities are “our brothers,” but no legislation against Islam can be allowed.
As soon as the session began, opposition members started chanting slogans.
Clarifying the matter, the law minister said no legislation contrary to the Quran and Sunnah is possible. He said assurances have been given to JUI-F, and despite this, Kamran Murtaza has demanded deletion of Clause 35, to which the government has no objection.
JUI leader Kamran Murtaza said they never want to give the impression that they are against minorities, as they consider minorities equal citizens.
He added that there are two highly objectionable points in the bill, and if it is passed as is, it would render the first law made for Ahmadis ineffective; therefore, the disputed clause must be removed from the bill.
