ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Thursday passed a government bill before its meeting ended abruptly after a heated exchange of arguments between Deputy Chairman Senate Syedaal Khan and the opposition side.
Law Minister Azam Tarar presented the National Commission for Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2025, a government’s legislative draft that mainly allows the chairperson of the National Commission for Human Rights to continue their duties for up to 120 days after retirement.
Apart from that, the bill seeks some procedural changes by amending the National Commission for Human Rights Act, 2012.
Shortly after this bill was passed, the deputy chairman, who was presiding over the session, said that a political party is involved in criticising the “national heroes” of the country, without naming any political party.
Khan said he would write a letter to the parliamentary leader of the said political party on this issue.
“We will not allow this to continue—the criticism of our national heroes has to stop,” he said.
As Deputy Chairman Khan continued to speak, senators from the opposition side demanded that they be given the floor to speak on the matter.
The opposition accused the deputy chairman of violating the Senate’s business rules by denying them the floor.
“A handful of elements cannot hijack this House,” Khan responded, before adjourning the Senate session till today (Friday).
Earlier, minority Senator Danesh Kumar from Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) demanded action against the head of a government school in Sindh’s tehsil Mirpur Sakro. The said headmistress, he said, was forcing Hindu female students to change their religion. Six Hindu girls, he said, held a press conference on the matter recently. “The girls alleged that the headmistress told them they would rot in hell because they practice idol worship,” Kumar said.
Forcing any minority member to change his/her religion is a violation of the Constitution of Pakistan, the law, and the Islamic injunctions, said Kumar.
“We are citizens of this country. We shouldn’t be treated like this. If someone wants to change their religion, out of their free will, then we have no objection,” he said.
Religious Affairs State Minister Kesoo Mal Kheal Das said the matter was taken up with the Sindh government, and Sindh’s Education Ministry conducted an inquiry into the issue.
“The issue has been resolved,” the state minister said. “I also belong to the Hindu community— the state never supports such acts— there is no compulsion in religion—due to these incidents, we wanted that the Education Ministry be assigned to the centre, to keep a check on curricula,” the minister said.
Earlier, Communications Minister Aleem Khan said in the Senate’s question hour that an air ambulance service would be launched for highways across the country next year.
Pakistan Expressway from Karachi to Chaman will be completed within two years, he said.
A written reply from the Communications Ministry furnished in the question hour stated that till 10 Nov 2025, the Postal Life Insurance Company Limited, since its incorporation in August 2020, disbursed a total number of 44,361 insurance claims amounting to 15.1 billion rupees approximately.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025