Report(Imrana komaL)
The Legal Aid Society (LAS), in collaboration with the National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR), organized the Access to Justice Conference at Ramada Hotel, Islamabad,
The event started with an introduction by the Chief Executive Officer, Barrister Haya Emaan Zahid, on the extensive work of LAS in the realm of access to justice, climate resilience, and gender and child security. Ms. Rukhsana Parveen Khokhar, Senior Program Manager at LAS, reflected on the real-time efforts of the organization at the grass root level, such as providing pro bono legal representation and legal aid to 315 members of religious minority communities. In addition, LAS conducted legal awareness clinics with 16,310 members of religious minority communities on issues such as the importance of education, property-related issues, women’s rights, etc.
These grass root efforts have been supplemented by evidence-based research presented by Ms. Batool Abid Memon, Assistant Manager Research at LAS. During her presentation, Ms. Batool mentioned that 324 individuals (from religious minority communities) were surveyed extensively for a Legal Needs Assessment Survey, and 165 Muslim state officials were interviewed for a first-of-its-kind Knowledge Attitudes and Practices Survey in order to understand the extent of direct and indirect discrimination that religious minority communities residing in Pakistan are subjected to. Moreover, to further map out structural discrimination in courts, LAS conducted an extensive Case File Analysis on Family Law, Petty Crimes, Blasphemy, and Forced Conversion cases.
These research findings were presented to activists and parliamentarians. This led to a moderated discussion on the legal, cultural, and administrative barriers to justice facilitated by Mr. Ross Mahtani (Member, Minority Rights Committee, Sindh Human Rights Commission) and Ms. Rukhsana Parveen Khokhar. The discussion included a productive conversation on peace linguistics, the shortcomings of the Christian Divorce Act of 1869, the gaps in the Pakistani school curricula, otherization, and the mistreatment that religious minority communities may face at the hands of justice/administrative sector actors, especially police personnel.
The discussion also included participation from esteemed guests such as MPA Anthony Naveed, human rights activists Nabila Feroz and Tahira Abdullah, and Member Minority Committee, Sindh Human Rights Commission, Ms. Pushpa Kumari. The potential of establishing a statutory commission was also discussed – as repeatedly recommended by the Supreme Court, constituted a one-man commission headed by Shoaib Suddle.
The key highlight of the day, however, was the panel discussion moderated by Mr. Peter Jacob, Executive Director of the Center for Social Justice. The discussion also included participation from esteemed personalities such as MPA Mangla Sharma and former MNA Aasiya Nasir.
Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Justice, Ms. Mahnaz Akbar Aziz, also graced the event with her presence. During the Keynote Speech, she spoke about the mistreatment that religious minority communities face in all spheres of life and the dire need for change in the status quo. She reiterated her commitment to ensuring that religious minority communities are granted constitutional rights and invited the participants to take the discussion to the halls of the Parliament.
Towards the end, Ms. Rabia Javeri, Chairperson NCHR, gave her closing remarks. She spoke about her personal experience as a student at a convent and her organization’s commitment to human rights. She also spoke at length about the research that the Commission has conducted on the current status of the rights granted to religious minority communities. More specifically, she expressed concern about the lack of implementation of the famous 2014 Tassaduq Jillani Judgement.
The event was attended and included the participation of various human rights activists, representatives from civil society organizations, and esteemed members of the Provincial Assemblies such as Mr. Manzoor Masih (Member Minorities, National Commission on Human Rights) and Krishnan Sharma (Chairman, Pakistan Hindu Mandir Management Committee, Government of Pakistan).
