NAVEED BUTT & AAMIR SAEED

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Tuesday expressed serious concern over omission of Clauses 7B and 7C of Conduct of General Elections Order 2002 relating to status of Ahmadis and replacement of the word “oath” with “declare” in new nomination papers for the candidate regarding Khatam-e-Nabuwat (Finality of Prophethood) in the newly passed Election Act, 2017.

Members from both the sides of the aisle urged the government to resolve the issue with consensus of all parliamentary parties. The members also suggested the government to form a parliamentary committee to discuss and resolve the issue amicably.

The clauses 7B and 7C that have been omitted from the Election Act 2017 read as:

“7B. Status of Ahmadis etc. to remain unchanged. - Notwithstanding anything contained in the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974, (XXI of 1974), the Electoral Rolls, Rules, 1974, or any other law for the time being in force, including the Forms prescribed for preparation of electoral rolls on joint electorate basis in pursuance of Article 7 of the Conduct of General Elections Order, 2002 (Chief Executive’s Order No. 7 of 2002), the status of Quadiani Group or the Lahori Group (who call themselves ‘Ahmadis’ or by any other name) or a person who does not believe in the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), the last of the prophets or claimed or claims to be a Prophet, in any sense of the word or of any description whatsoever, after Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) or recognizes such a claimant as a Prophet or a religious reformer shall remain the same as provided in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973.”

“7C.- If a person has got himself enrolled as voter and objection is filed before the Revising Authority notified under the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974, within ten days from issuance of the Conduct of General Elections (Second Amendment) Order, 2002, that such a voter is not a Muslim, the Revising Authority shall issue a notice to him to appear before it within fifteen days and require him to sign a declaration regarding his belief about the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) in Form-IV prescribed under the Electoral Rolls Rules, 1974. In case he refuses to sign the declaration as aforesaid, he shall be deemed to be a non-Muslim and his name shall be deleted from the joint electoral rolls and added to a supplementary list of voters in the same electoral area as non-Muslim. In case the voter does not turn up in spite of service of notice, an ex parte order may be passed against him.”

Raising this issue on the floor of the House, Jamaat-e-Islami member Sahibzada Tariqullah expressed serious concerns over the omission of the clauses and replacement of the word in the nomination paper, saying that he introduced the amendments on Monday too to rectify these mistakes but the government rejected them.

He said that there is a hell of difference between the word “oath” and “declare” in the legal language; therefore the government should rectify this mistake immediately.

Tariqullah also questioned intensions of the government as to why it omitted the clauses 7B and 7C from the newly passed law. “This is a sensitive issue and if this is not restored in the new law, people will be left with no option but to protest against the government,” he said.

Taking part in the debate, Minister for Housing and Works Akram Khan Durrani said that his party is consulting with the legal experts on the issue and the government should move amendments to restore the original clauses. “No parliamentarian is ready to compromise on this issue,” he said.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf member Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that his party is also consulting legal experts and religious clerics on the issue as this is a sensitive matter. “If there is a need to amend the Election Law, amendments should be presented in the House for passage,” he said.

PML-N member Ghulam Muhammad Lali suggested the Speaker to constitute a parliamentary committee to address the issue.

PML-N members Abdul Manan and Maj Tahir Iqbal (retd), Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour of ANP and Ali Muhammad Khan of PTI also spoke on the issue and supported the views of their colleagues.

Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi, however, said that a disinformation campaign was run on social media and some television channels regarding omission of the Khatam-e-Nubawat from the newly passed law. “If there is any issue, the whole House is ready to pass any amendment to fix it,” he said.

Earlier, Law Minister Zahid Hamid rejected the allegations of the opposition members regarding passage of clause 203 in the Election Law through a fraudulent mean, saying all the members of Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms were given a comparative table of the amendments in the new bill.

He said the clause was taken up in fifth meeting of the sub-committee on electoral reforms on the suggestion of an opposition member on November 17, 2014 and it was accepted accordingly.

The minister also rebuffed the impression that the law was passed to benefit a specific person.

Regarding Khatam-e-Nabuwat, he said the government cannot even think of abolishing of any provision in the law or constitution regarding it. “It is part of the Constitution and nobody can change it,” he said.

He said only the oath taking form for the candidate has been made simple, but the provision regarding Khatm-e-Nabuwat has not been changed at all.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Sheikh Aftab Ahmed informed the National Assembly that directions are being sent to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to restore internet service in Balochistan.

He was responding to a calling attention notice moved by Naseema Hafeez Panezai and others regarding closure of internet services in districts Killa Abdullah, Pishin, Kech, Panjgur, Dalbandin and Kharan due to security concerns.

The minister said the facility should be restored as security situation has improved in the province.