Pak House clears landmark Hindu Marriage Bill

PAKISTAN’S PARLIAMENT has passed the much-awaited landmark Bill to regulate marriages of Hindus in the country. Pakistan’s Hindus were set to get an exclusivepersonallawtoregulatemarriagesafterthenationalassembly unanimously adopted the Hindu Marriage Bill, 2017, Thursday.

The law was passed after a lengthy process of enactment.

It was the second time that the National Assembly passed the Bill. It passed the Bill in September last year but had to pass it again as its version of the Bill was changed by the Senate when it adopted it in February.

As per rules, the same text should be passed by the two Houses of the Parliament before it is sent to the President for his signatures and promulgation for implementation. Dawn reported that the Senate included an amendment to the draft approved by the National Assembly in September.

The final text approved by both houses includes the “Shadi Parath” — a document similar to “nikahnama” in Muslims.

The Shadi Parath will be required to be signed by a pundit and will be registered with the relevant government department. The simple document has eight columns starting with the date of marriage and followed by the name of the union council, tehsil, town and district.

Both the bride and the groom have to sign the document along with one witness and the registrar. The Hindu Marriage Bill will help Hindu women to get documentary proof of their marriage.

The Bill was presented in the National Assembly Thursday by ruling PML-N’S Christian lawmaker Kamran Michael. PTI