RECORDER REPORT

PESHAWAR: Chairman National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), former Justice Ali Nawaz Chohan said that the protection of legal and marital rights of converted Kalashi girls is the fundamental constitutional responsibility of the state and local administration.

He said the Nikah of the converted Kalashi girls must be solemnized only by the government’s approved Nikah Registrars, who should ensure that all the legal rights of the bride, particularly age determination, the presence of the Wali, proper Haq Mehar and the right of divorcing the husband are secured in the Nikah form.

He was talking to media persons after his four-day official visit to Chitral on Tuesday.

Chohan appreciated the tolerance and broad mindedness of the Kalashi elders who have allowed their women to change religion and get married according to their own wishes.

However, he expressed serious reservations on the reported divorces of Kalashi women immediately after their conversion and marriage to Muslim men without any social and financial arrangements for their sustenance. He termed this cruel practice as a grave violation of the rights of Kalashi women.

Chairman NCHR opined that Kalashi society is a remarkable model of interfaith tolerance where the practitioners of Kalashi religion and Muslims are living in harmony and peace.