Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Member National Assembly (MNA) and Patron-in-Chief of Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC) Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani advised the former president of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari to call upon all religious and political parties in Sindh for an All Parties Conference (APC) to re-evaluate the forced religious conversion bill.

Commenting upon media reports of a return for the Sindh Assembly Criminal Law Protection Bill of forced religious conversion by Governor Sindh Saeedul Zaman Siddiqui, the well-known Hindu parliamentary leader said that a unanimously passed bill could not be called ‘controversial’ and the motive behind the forced conversion bill was to prevent the incidents of kidnapping and the forced conversions of teenage Hindu girls, while ensuring respect to all religions.

He stressed that no civilized society would allow its underage citizens to drive, smoke, apply for regular employment, register marriage, obtain a drivers license and passport, and other life issues.

Dr Ramesh Kumar stated that parents can take better care of immature children and in Islamic countries like Malaysia, the consent of parents is required for the conversion of religion, according to local laws.

“The possible return of the unanimously approved bill would not only increase the sense of insecurity among non-Muslim citizens, but also put a question mark on Pakistan’s parliamentary system on international level,” he said.

The Hindu parliamentarian maintained that PHC has never opposed religious conversion as a result of preaching or studying the religion but the real issue is the safety of the immature juvenile victims, specifically Hindu girls in Sindh, who are abducted, forced to convert religion and thus separated from their parents.

While commenting about the protest of religious parties he said that he respects the followers of every religion and is ready to play a pro-active role to remove the grievances and concerns of all stakeholders.