IPS facilitates discussion on proposed ‘Anti-Forced Conversion Bill’ at CII

Expediting its efforts to
genuinely probe the phenomenon of alleged forced conversion in Pakistan, IPS
facilitated a meeting on September 17, 2021 between the officials of the
Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) and Pir Abdul Haque alias Mian Mithu of
Bharchundi Sharif (Ghotki), who is alleged for forcibly converting scores of
individuals to Islam.

The participants of the
discussion included Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, Dr Qibla Ayaz, Chairman CII, Dr
Umair Mehmood Siddiqui, member, CII, Dr Ikram ul Haq, secretary, CII, and Dr
Mohammad Mushtaq Ahmed, legal expert and former director, Shari’ah Academy,
among others. The delegation from IPS comprised Syed Nadeem Farhat, senior
research officer, and Sufi Ghulam Hussain, the researcher and author of IPS’ study
‘Forced Conversions or Faith Conversions: Rhetoric and Reality’.

The objective behind the
meeting was to discuss the phenomenon of forced conversions in Pakistan,
particularly in Sindh, and the implications of the proposed anti-forced
conversion bill, which has already been tabled before the parliament’s
committee on minorities.

Speaking on the occasion,
Mian Mithu cleared his position on forced conversion, explaining at length the
history as well as the actual role of his seminary in religious conversions in
Sindh. Besides, he also shed light on the mechanism his seminary adopts to
verify if the converter is under duress, and how to protect the converts after
conversion in case of threats.