The office bearers Peoples’ Commission for Minorities’ Rights (PCMR) and Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) expressed their utter dismay on the fact that some stakeholders have reduced the scope of religious freedom to child marriages and forced conversions. Speaking to a press conference, the chairperson of PCMR Peter Jacob and Wajahat Masood, Chairperson of CSJ maintained that the view taken by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Council of Islamic Ideology is a gross misunderstanding of the issue or a lack of it. These stakeholders have missed the point entirely that the draft bill prepared by the Ministry of Human Rights seeks to prevent forced conversion of women and children belonging to minorities, rather than an effort to undermine religious freedom of any citizen.
The national media has been consistently reporting incidence of forced conversion particularly of minority girls and women across Pakistan though the trend demonstrates higher occurrences in Punjab and Sindh that house a higher number of Christians and Hindus in these provinces. Although the law in Sindh prohibits marrying a girl under 18 years of age and in Punjab the minimum age for marriage is 16 years, yet minor girls are mostly the target of such crimes.
In 2020, the Centre for Social Justice, had issued its research report titled, Silence of the Lamb III which revealed that the phenomenon of forced conversion and marriages of minor girls from the Hindu and Christian community was not limited to Sindh and Punjab but was prevalent in other parts of the country. According to the report, the highest incidences of alleged forced conversions (51.85%) was reported in Punjab, 43.83% in Sindh, 1.23% in Federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa each while one case was reported in Balochistan.
Wajahat Masood while addressing the press conference said, “A child undergoes immense trauma, fear, separation from parents and physical-mental and emotional abuse. It has been observed in many cases that families have to run from pillar to post for justice. Along with the child, families too are under threat and forced to stay silent. Hence besides the violation of fundamental rights, including religious freedom, there are multiple violations involved in cases of forced conversions. ”
Peter emphasised that the government should consult the history to learn from the stand taken by the All India Muslim League in a demand made in 1927. He quoted historian Ghulam Ali Allana’s book, Pakistan Movement: Historic Documents which carried the League’s demand as follows, “Every individual or group is at liberty to convert or re-convert another by argument or persuasion, but that no individual or group shall attempt to do so or prevent its being done by force, fraud or other unfair means. Persons under eighteen years of age should not be converted unless it be along with their parents or guardians.”
He further said, “Therefore a denial of or resistance to safeguards against forced conversion goes against the basic idea of religious freedom. Forced Conversion is a violation of human rights guaranteed in the constitution of Pakistan. For years, the minorities have suffered at the hands of criminal individuals and groups, using religion as their shelter for criminal activities. The government should fulfill its duty to protect minorities and stop anyone violating the law be severely punished.”
The participants of the press conference demanded that the Ministry for Religious Affairs should stand up and be counted for protection of minorities or it will go down in history as one abetting worst of the crimes against minorities.