ISLAMABAD – Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Asma Jahangir on Thursday stressed the need for reforming family laws for non-Muslim citizens of Pakistan, adding that it was impossible to deal with issues like divorce under the present law.
In a press statement, she said any claims of democracy or rule of law would sound hollow in a society where religious intolerance ruled all political and legal decisions and policies. She said the government should end discrimination against non-Muslims instead of paying just lip service to their cause. “A non-Muslim cannot hold certain public and judicial offices and their being witness is not considered to be equal to a Muslim citizen’s being witness,” she said.
She also welcomed the government’s move in remembering non-Muslim citizens and reminded the nation of the pledge made by the founder of the nation to treat all citizens alike regardless of their religion. She regretted that the vision of promoting an egalitarian society based on non-discrimination had been callously ignored.
