Religious affairs minister opposes measures to prevent forced conversions

What Happened : In a meeting of the Senate parliamentary committee on minorities’ rights, Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri opposed a proposed restriction on converting religion before the age of 18 years. He stated that a teenager cannot be stopped if they wished to convert to a different religion. Details : To curtail the recent surge in forced conversions, it had been recommended that only a mature person should be allowed to change their religion and that too after appearing before an additional sessions judge of the area. Noorul Haq Qadri, however, expressed his dismissal during a meeting of the Senate parliamentary committee on minorities’ rights. He stated that a teenager under 18 cannot be stopped if they wished to convert to a different religion. He declared that the government did not support restricting religious conversion before 18 years of age as there were many examples in Islam of under-age conversion. When the matter of forced conversion in Sindh was brought up, the minister said that it would be investigated. He also suggested that cleric Mian Mithu who is said to have a role in forced conversion in the province be summoned to the committee. “The committee should tell him what he is doing is damaging Islam and Pakistan,” the minister said. For more visit Propergaanda