Islamabad, May 11, 2026: The Senate Minority Caucus on Monday discussed issues related to minority quota implementation, human rights concerns, and the alleged kidnapping and marriage case involving a Christian girl named Kiran during a meeting held at Parliament House.
The meeting was chaired by Danesh Kumar and attended by members of the National Assembly, including Nelson Azeem, Isphanyar M. Bhandara, Ramesh Lal, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, and Neelam Kumari.
During the session, the Additional Inspector General of Balochistan Police briefed the forum on the department’s sanctioned and serving strength. The committee was informed that the police force had a sanctioned strength of 49,414 personnel, while the current serving strength stood at 43,918, leaving 5,496 vacant positions.
The forum was also informed that 32,942 sanctioned posts of the former Levies Force had recently been merged into Balochistan Police, with the integration process currently underway.
Officials briefed the committee on recruitment procedures for DSPs, ASIs, constables, and Class-IV employees, stating that senior officers were recruited through the Federal Public Service Commission while lower staff recruitment was conducted directly by the department on merit.
Responding to concerns raised by lawmakers, the AIG stated that the department remained committed to implementing the government’s five percent minority quota policy and that reserved seats were clearly mentioned in recruitment advertisements.
Senator Danesh Kumar, however, expressed concern over unfilled minority quota vacancies in the constable category. He pointed out that out of 27,972 sanctioned constable posts in Balochistan Police, 1,142 were reserved for minorities, but only 440 had been filled, leaving 702 positions vacant.
The forum recommended that vacancies reserved for minorities should be advertised separately to ensure their timely recruitment.
MNA Dr. Nelson Azeem also urged authorities to ensure the implementation of the five percent minority quota in Class-IV positions in the same manner as higher-grade posts. The issue of non-compliance with minority quota policies by provincial departments was referred to the Ministry of Human Rights, which was directed to write to provincial governments for implementation.
The chairman of the Minority Caucus also expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the Establishment Division for failing to provide comprehensive data regarding vacant and filled minority quota seats across ministries and departments. Representatives of the division assured the committee that the required data would be provided after June 2026.
The committee also took up the alleged kidnapping case of Kiran, a Christian girl from Lahore. The City Police Officer of Rawalpindi, representing the Inspector General of Punjab Police, informed the forum that an FIR had been registered at Youhanabad Police Station and that Kiran had appeared before police, claiming she had married Rashid Mashi of her own free will.
Police officials further stated that the couple later appeared before a court, which recorded their statements and allowed them to leave.
Dr. Nelson Azeem challenged the police account and maintained that the girl was underage. He argued that the law permitted marriage only after the age of 18 and alleged that Kiran’s parents had been denied access to her after her recovery by police.
He also accused police officials of misconduct toward the girl’s mother and stressed the importance of proper age verification in sensitive cases involving minors.
The DIG Investigation Lahore, who joined the meeting virtually, informed the committee that the complaint had been lodged by Kiran’s uncle on April 8, 2026, mentioning her age as 17 years in the FIR. He added that during a meeting with her parents at the local police station, Kiran had refused to accompany them and reiterated that she had willingly married Rashid Mashi.
Members of the Minority Caucus unanimously emphasized that police authorities must verify the age and CNIC details of both parties before facilitating marriage-related matters.
On the recommendation of the caucus, the committee directed the relevant authorities to reinvestigate the case in light of the Christian Marriage Law and present a detailed report in the next meeting.
