Home Latest News Law Minister Rubbishes ‘Baseless’ Propaganda against Transgender Law

Law Minister Rubbishes ‘Baseless’ Propaganda against Transgender Law

Azam Nazeer Tarar clarifies that JI senator’s proposed amendments are aimed at preventing misuse of law

by Staff Report

Photo courtesy PID

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Thursday dismissed as “baseless propaganda” criticism of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, stressing that Parliament “cannot enact legislation contrary to shariah.”

Addressing a press conference alongside Adviser to the P.M. on Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira, he said the law had not been significantly altered since it was enacted in 2018. “At the time of its enacting, all political parties—including the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf—approved this law,” he stressed, adding that the opinion of the chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology was also sought before it was passed.

Tarar said Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan of the Jamat-e-Islami (JI) had recently proposed an amendment to the law to stop any misuse. “Senator Mushtaq has proposed that people declaring themselves transgender must present a medical report to prove it,” he said, adding that under the Constitution of Pakistan, no person could be discriminated against on the basis of their gender.

Kaira, likewise, said the government supports Senator Mushtaq’s proposed amendments to the bill and regretted that social media had become a “hotbed for fake news.” Emphasizing that Mushtaq’s proposed amendments would further improve the transgender law, he clarified that thus far the law had not been changed in any way but the government was considering it.

“This amendment should be supported as it will remove all flaws from the existing law,” the adviser claimed, adding that Senator Mushtaq was “not against the law at all.”

The law minister, meanwhile, stressed that transgender individuals are equal human beings and the 2018 legislation was meant to “protect their rights, including inheritance, education, employment, health, and purchasing a property.” He also noted that in 2013, the Supreme Court had issued a detailed ruling directing the government to ensure transgender individuals were treated as equal citizens by the state.

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