KARACHI: Both Houses of parliament, reflecting the sentiments and aspirations of the people of Pakistan, tonight [Sept 7] gave on the complex Ahmadi question their unanimous verdict that puts an end to this 90-year-old religious problem. The National Assembly and the Senate passed the Constitution Second Amendment Bill declaring that non-believers in the “absolute and unqualified finality” of the Prophethood of Mohammad (peace be upon him) will not be Muslims.

The Bill was first passed by the National Assembly by 130 votes — all the Members present, in the 146-Member House. Shortly after its passage in the [NA], the Bill was taken up by the Senate where all the 31 Members present, out of a total of 45 Members, voted for it.

The three clause Bill … was presented be­­fore the House by the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr Abdul Hafiz Pirzada, with a brief history of the Special Committee’s deliberations and the difficulties it had to encounter while trying to evolve a permanent solution of this century-old chronic problem. Earlier, the House passed a resolution … recommending necessary amendments in the Constitution and adding a new section in the Pakistan Penal Code.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2024