Hindus married females to get Pak IDs

Hindus married females to get Pak IDs

ISLAMABAD, March 30: The Pakistan top Court on Friday was told that hindrance in way of issuance of nationality identity cards to married women from Hindu community has been removed.

Molvi Anwarl ul Haq, the government top lawyer, informs a bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) the top authority to deal with such matters, has issued direction to all its offices to issue identity cards to Hindu minority females after obtaining affidavits about their marriage.

However, the Chief Justice advised the attorney to mull over legislation for settling it permanently which can accommodate more than three million Hindus in the country.

The apex Court has taken notice of a news report about the problems faced by a married Hindu woman, Pram Sari Mai, wife of Goband, in Rahimyar Khan town in Punjab province as she is denied of identity card because her marriage was not registered.

Pakistan's minority Hindu community has been protesting over the prolonged delay in the approval of a law to register their marriages, saying the lack of legislation affected the inheritance rights of women.



They are pressing for legislation in the Pakistan parliament for approval of the Hindu Marriage Registration Act.

The Indian parliament had passed the Hindu Marriage Act in 1955, which made it mandatory for Hindu marriages to be registered in India and the Hindu community in Pakistan has been demanding of the same rights for decades.