Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights has agreed for the exclusion of disputed clause related to Hindu marriage act on the insistence of Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, Patron-in-chief of Pakistan Hindu Council and Member National Assembly.
On the special invitation, Dr Ramesh Vankwani on Wednesday exclusively attended the meeting which was chaired by Senator Nasreen Jalil at Parliament House.
Dr Ramesh said that since the establishment of Pakistan the peace loving Hindu community has been demanding for protection of their rights, through the Hindu Marriage Act. Lauding the role of parliament, he said that this historic bill must be approved unanimously.
Representing Hindu community across the country, Dr Ramesh informed the committee members regarding their concerns for the clause 12(iii) in the marriage act.
“Marriage below eighteen years of age is not acceptable in any religion and society” he said. Termination of marriage due to religious conversion is a serious matter and it could fuel forced religious conversions further, he further emphasized.
He requested the senate committee members to remove the clause 12(iii) from the Hindu Marriage Act, in NA.
He was of the view that the recent Hindu marriage act presented in Sindh Assembly is related to marriage registration and he had already made such arrangements for registration of marriages a year ago from NADRA as per Supreme Court’s orders.
“For the unanimous approval of Hindu Marriage Bill, provincial assemblies approved articles 144 and SC played a pivotal role too,” he said, adding that Sindh and Balochistan assemblies passed the resolution and referred this matter of great importance to the federal government.
On the occasion, Senator Farhatullah Babar, Barrister Zafarullah along with other members strongly supported Dr Ramesh Kumar’s stance and said that the purpose of this Hindu Marriage Act is to provide a sense of protection to the Hindu community and to dismiss the concerns shown by Hindu leader Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani.
After further discussion, the senate standing committee agreed to the exclusion of the controversial clause.
