A meeting of the committee, chaired by Chairperson MNA Shagufta Jumani expressed its reservations over the current process of enrolment of HGOs through a chartered accountant firm as dubious and decided to hand over the case to FIA for further investigations.
Chairperson Ms Shagufta Jumani said the process of reassessment of HGOs was not transparent and there are complaints that the favourites are being given priority in selection for the allotment of Hajj quota.
The ministry should have hired the services of more than one chartered accountant firm for assessing and enrolling the HGOs in a transparent way.
The committee asked National Commission for Minorities (NCM) to play its due role in resolving minority issues and specially property disputes of their religious places pending since years.
Chairperson Ms Shagufta Jumani expressed her indignation over the rejection of National Assembly Sub Committee on Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony’s discussed points by NCM and rejected the NCM’s rejection of the discussed points.
Convener of the sub-committee Ali Muhammad Khan wondered why NCM had rejected, what he said, only points discussed in sub-committee’s meeting.
The points were not yet finalised but the NCM had rejected the discussed points which was astonishing, Ali Muhammad said adding the sub-committee is mandated to send recommendations to standing committee and not to the NCM, on bureaucracy’s advise the points were rejected which is amazing.
The Committee gave the last opportunity to sub-Committee to finalize its report pending three private Member’s Bills, the Commission for Minorities Bill, 2015, (moved by Ms. Beelum Hasnain, MNA) the Commission for Minorities Bill, 2015 (moved by Lal Chand Malhi, MNA) and the Commission for Minorities Bill, 2016 (moved by Sanjay Perwani, MNA) and fixed on the sub-Committee dated 27-04-2018.
The committee recommended to transfer the key officials who are working in the ministry for the last three years.
The Committee expressed concern over the non-appointment of the Chairman, Evacuee Trust Property Board and recommended to appoint Chairman ETPB on priority basis to resolve the grievances/issues of Minorities.
The committee decided to visit Swami Narain Mandir in Gawalmandi, Rawalpindi on Saturday evening to know the actual situation on ground.
The committee was briefed that there never existed any Swami Narain Mandir, and only worship rooms known as Swami Narain Mandir. These worship rooms were leased out to Mrs Shakeela Bibi.
These rooms were in possession of Shakuntala Bibi and Faqeer Ram. She embraced Islam in 1995 and married to a Muslim named Abdul Majeed and her Muslim name is Shakeela Bibi. She was awarded lease rights of the administrator Evacuee Trust Property Board, Rawalpindi in 2016. Later, she surrendered lease rights in favour of Azhar Ali Butt. He is now on possession of the said building on usual terms and condition.
The committee summoned the Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sardar Yousaf to brief the committee in next meeting about issue of 475 Majamla visas.
The members of the committee including MNAs Malik Abdul Ghaffar Dogar, Syed Imran Ahmed Shah, Sahibzada Faiz-ul- Hassan, Ms. Kiran Imran Dar, Ramesh Lal, Ali Muhammad Khan, Lal Chand Malhi, Muhammad Kamal, Molvi Agha Muhammad, Ms. Shaida Akhtar Ali, Bismillah Khan and Minister of State along with Secretary, Ministry of Religious Affairs and Inter-Faith Harmony, attended the meeting.