Facing criticism in the international media over the forced conversion of girls from minority religious communities into Islam, the Pakistan government has circulated a draft anti-forced conversion bill, which has met with disapproval from Muslim clerics and religious scholars.

The proposed law awards punishment between five to 10 years and a fine from Rs 100,000 to Rs 200,000 for any person who uses criminal force to convert a person to another religion.

Any person who is an abettor to a forced conversion will be liable to imprisonment from three to five years and a fine of Rs100,000.

Clerics and religious scholars who attended a meeting called by the Ministry of Religious Affairs to discuss the draft of the bill, however, warned the government that it cannot be implemented in its current shape.

The ministry invited only Muslim stakeholders to hold the in-camera meeting on Monday.

Members of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) or its chairman, Chela Ram, were not invited. The lone Muslim member of the NCM, Mufti Gulzar Naeemi, was invited in his capacity as a local cleric.

The meeting, chaired by Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noorul Haq Qadri, saw senior ministry officials, heads of the Interfaith Harmony Wing and Haj Wing in attendance.

Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Chairman Dr. Qibla Ayaz was among those present.

The agenda and discussion at the meeting have not been made public.

However, leading Pakistani media outlet Dawn quoted an unnamed participant as saying that the meeting was informed that the draft of the Prohibition of Forced Conversion Act, 2021 has been received from the Ministry of Human Rights.

The clerics and religious scholars in the review meeting expressed serious reservations over it and objected to several clauses, including the fixation of the minimum age of conversion at 18 years.

They claimed that the minimum age prescribed was incorrect, contrary to the draft domestic violence bill currently with the law ministry.

“When parents cannot even scold their children under the domestic violence bill, so can they stop their children from embracing Islam?” one of the clerics was quoted as saying.

The participant also observed that the procedure allowed under the draft law for conversion was too cumbersome.

The draft bill provides that any non-Muslim, who is not a child and is able and willing to convert to another religion, would have to apply for a conversion certificate from an additional sessions judge of the area where he or she is residing.

The additional sessions judge will set a date for interview within seven days of receipt of an application for conversion, and on the date, the judge will ensure that the conversion is not under any duress and not due to any deceit or fraudulent misrepresentation.

The proposed law also states that the case of forced conversion will have to be disposed of within 90 days by the Court, while an appeal against a conviction or acquittal of an offense under this Act can be presented before the respective High Court within ten days from the date on which copy of the order passed by the Court of Session is supplied to the appellant.

In 2020, American magazine Forbes reported that around 1,000 Christian and Hindu women and girls were kidnapped and forced to convert and marry Muslim men in Pakistan each year.

“This estimate of the number of victims may be even higher as many cases remain unreported, often due to the limited financial means of the girls’ families,” the magazine said.

Pakistani Prime minister Imran Khan has also criticized forced conversions, calling them "un-Islamic".

(SAM)