KARACHI – The Hindus in Pakistan would finally be able to have their marriages registered as the government has finalised arrangements to table the draft of the ‘Hindu Marriages Registration Bill’ in the next National Assembly session, sources in federal government told Pakistan Today.
To resolve legal technicalities in the bill, the Pakistani government has invited a 10-member delegation of prominent Indian lawyers. The delegation led by Solicitor General of India Gopal Subramaniam, who is subordinate to the attorney general of India -would reach Pakistan on December 24 for a five-day visit.
Apart from helping prepare the draft of the bill, the delegation would also study Pakistani laws as India plans to amend its century-old ‘Muslim Personal Law’. As there are no separate family laws, religious minorities in Pakistan including Hindus, Sikhs and Baha’is face immense difficulties in acquiring national identity cards, passports and other legal documents on mentioning their relationship with spouses.
They are unable to legally resolve matrimonial disputes, separations and property distribution as well. The women of minority communities suffer a lot, as there is no official marriage certificate issued by the government.
The Hindus say that the National Database Registration Authority asks for a marriage certificate to include their spouse’s name in the computerised national identity card. Hindu widows face problems getting their due share in the properties left behind by their husbands. Thousands of lawsuits on family matters are pending in local courts as certain family laws are not present.
The courts have to refer to family laws, which were introduced by the British government in 1946 and have not been made a part of the Constitution of Pakistan. Besides the Hindu Marriages Registration Bill, the ruling PPP also plans to table the Minority Protection Bill in the next National Assembly session.
