Express Tribune: Human rights activists have criticised the National Database and Registration Authority’s (NADRA) apparent policy to refuse to change ‘Islam’ as a person’s religion in their records.
MPA Rana Asif Mahmood was recently summoned by the courts to answer a petition seeking his disqualification from his Punjab Assembly seat reserved for minorities on the grounds that NADRA identified him as a Muslim in its records.
Mahmood told The Express Tribune that he was a Christian and NADRA had mistakenly identified him as a Muslim because of his name. He said NADRA had refused to rectify the error.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a NADRA official said that while a person could get their religion changed in the records from a religion other than Islam to another faith, the same could not be done if the person wanted to change their religion from Islam to another faith.
“If a person says he is from a certain faith, NADRA should take his word for it,” said Peter Jacob, executive director of the National Commission for Justice and Peace.
He said that he had come across other examples of NADRA misidentifying a person’s religion because of their name. He said that NADRA should rectify such mistakes if an applicant showed proof of their religion. “It’s as simple as showing a certificate from the church, which carries a record of people of the Christian faith,” he said.
NADRA Public Relations Officer Farrukh Mushtaq said though he was not completely sure, it was “very likely” that a request by a person identified as a Muslim to change their religion would not be accommodated.
Categories: Asia, Human Rights, Human values, Pakistan, Separation of Church and State
For the purposes of national unity and identity as a Pakistani and to avail equality of citizens’ rights without any discrimination on grounds of religion whatsoever demands absolute removal of religious column from the database and identity cards and passports. NADRA’s data base with religious orientation is clearly contrary to Quaid e Azam’s declared policy of the state which has nothing to do with the religion of its citizens. Without that there will be no equality no unity no peace no pride and no progress but the Mullahs do not understand this unfortunately.