Oath on Khatm-e-Nabuwwat restored to original form

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed amendments in the Elections Act, 2017, restoring Khatm-e-Nabuwwat (finality of Prophethood) declaration and oath for candidates filing nomination to contest general elections.

The House also restored two clauses on the status of Qadianis in their original form as contained in the Conduct of General Elections Act 2002 which is now part of the Election Bill, 2107.

The sentence “I do hereby solemnly swear” will stand restored with the amendment. The House also restored clauses 7-B and 7-C of the conduct of elections order, 2002 (Chief Executive’s Order No. 7 of 2002, which had gone with the repeal of the entire Order). These clauses pertain to the status of Qadianis.

Clause 7B reads: “Notwithstanding anything contained in the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974 (XXI of 1974), the Electoral Rolls, Rules, 1974, or any other law for the time being in force, including the Forms prescribed for preparation of electoral rolls on joint electorate basis in pursuance of Article 7 of the Conduct of General Elections Order, 2002 (Chief Executive's Order No. 7 of 2002), the status of Qadiani Group or the Lahori Group (who call themselves ‘Ahmadis’ or by any other name) or a person who does not believe in the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him), the last of the prophets or claimed or claims to be a Prophet, in any sense of the word or of any description whatsoever, after Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) or recognises such a claimant as a Prophet or religious reformer shall remain the same as provided in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973.”

The Clause 7C reads: “If a person has got himself enrolled as voter and objection is filed before the Revising Authority notified under the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974, within ten days from issuance of the Conduct of General Elections (Second Amendment) Order, 2002, that such a voter is not a Muslim, the Revising Authority shall issue a notice to him to appear before it within fifteen days and require him to sign a declaration regarding his belief about the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) in Form-IV prescribed under the Electoral Rolls Rules, 1974. In case he refuses to sign the declaration as aforesaid, he shall be deemed  to be a non-Muslim and his name shall be deleted from the joint electoral rolls and added to a supplementary list of voters in the same electoral area as non-Muslim. In case the voter does not turn up in spite of service of notice, an ex-parte order may be passed against him.

Soon after the House passed two amendments in the Elections Act, former prime minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali, who joined the PML-N after being elected as an independent in 2013 polls, regretted the indirect war being waged against the institutions and said “the institutions have their own way of functioning and they do not become personal subordinates of individuals. Jamali also sought action against those responsible for the controversial amendment in the clause on finality of Prophethood of Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), irrespective of their status. He recalled that the same advice had also been given by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to his elder brother.

He came harsh on the government pointing fingers at armed forces, saying it were armed forces which came to help of civilians in difficult times of national calamities. He objected to statement of Nawaz Sharif when he said that he was elected by 200 million people but still was disqualified. Criticizing the PML-N’s style of governance, he regretted that important ministries remain without ministers for years. He said he had been advising Nawaz Sharif to replace members of his cabinet who failed to deliver, but regretted that it never happened.

Syed Naveed Qamar of the PPP while speaking on a point of order said it was not appropriate to term the change in Khatm-e-Nabuwwat declaration as clerical mistake. He said the matter had never been discussed in the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms and it would not be fair to attribute this blunder to the committee.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi of the PTI said he was at a loss to understand as to why the declaration had been touched. He lamented that no one from amongst the ministers and bureaucrats was ready to accept responsibility. Sheikh Salahuddin of the MQM alleged that it had deliberately been done to appease some masters.

Sahibzada Tariqullah of Jamaat-e-Islami called for an inquiry to fix the responsibility for the blunder. However, he appreciated the move of restoration of wording of the oath in original form.