A PTI sponsored bill, proposing a change in an oath taken by non-Muslim members of parliament upon being sworn, was shelved on Monday by Senate Standing Committee on Law.
PTI’s Senator Azam Swati had tabled the bill to modify Article 255 of the Constitution in order to amend the oath administered to non-Muslim members of the parliament. His bill sought to omit the ‘tasmia‘ (beginning the oath in the name of Allah) from the oaths of non-Muslim parliamentarians.
Swati argued that the non-Muslim members of the parliament could not be asked to recite the first ‘kalimah’. His bill also proposed that the oath for non-Muslim members should also replace the term ‘Ideology of Islam’ with ‘Ideology of Pakistan’.
However, the committee chairman remarked that there was no difference between the ideology of Islam and the ideology of Pakistan. “There may be no difference between the two for us Muslims, but you should ask non-Muslims what the difference is,” Swati responded.
However, the members of the law ministry postponed the bill saying that it was touching on what was currently a highly sensitive and dangerous issue.
