Daily Times

The federal cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday withdrawn decision to include Qadianis in the National Commission for Minorities (NCM).

During the meeting, the federal cabinet has approved the formation and composition of the National Council for Minorities.

Talking to media, after the meeting, Federal Religious Affairs Minister Noorul Haq Qadri said Chela Ram Kewlani, a Hindu businessman and PTI leader in Sindh, would be the chairman of the council.

Last week, it was reported that Imran chaired a federal cabinet meeting on Wednesday, in which the concerned summary was tabled for approval. During the meeting, a number of federal cabinet members endorsed the inclusion of Ahmadis in the commission.

However, the religious affairs minister denied the reports and said that no such decision was taken, adding that Ahmadis cannot be included in the commission as they don’t accept themselves to be Muslims.

The cabinet had considered the summary titled ‘Re-Constitution of National Commission for Minorities’ dated April 15, 2020 which was submitted by the Religious Affairs Division, and approved the constitution of the commission in principle.

It subsequently directed that the National Commission for Minorities be reconstituted while keeping following aspects in view: majority of members in the commission shall be from the minority communities; chairman shall be from minority communities; Ahmadi community, being a minority, should also be represented in the commission.

Notably, in 2014, the Supreme Court had asked the federal government to form a national council for minorities’ rights.

The court also asked the government to form a special task force for the protection of the places of worship of minorities.