ISLAMABAD: In a landmark move, Pakistan Muslim League-N (PMLN) will table a bill next week on the pre-marital blood screening of couples to check the spread of transmissible diseases, sources said.
PMLN Senator Chaudhry Tanvir Khan is expected to present an amendment bill for the family laws in the Senate in an effort to control the spread of HIV/AIDS, thalassemia, hepatitis and other communicable diseases by making pre-marital blood screening a necessity.
According to an NGO working for treatment of the disease the Fatimid Foundation, around 8,000 babies are born every year with thalassemia major in Pakistan. Public health experts have also suggested thalassemia test to be made compulsory before marriage.
Senator Tahir said, “I will move the bill on July 26. The basic objective of the bill is to prevent the spread of communicable diseases which are transmitted through genetic abnormalities and blood transmission.”
He said that under the amended family laws, which include Muslim marriage, Christian Marriage and Divorce Act and Parsi Marriage Act, a couple would be bound to get their blood screened before the marriage. “After the legislation, marriage will not be considered valid without the report of blood screening and the (couple) will be bound to get a medical certificate from the concerned doctor,” he said. The Nikah registrar would only register the marriage after getting a medical report from the doctor concerned, he added.
He claimed that being a public representative he is dealing with many people, who are facing such diseases. Therefore, he had decided to introduce the family law amendment bill so that these diseases could be prevented.
Earlier a report was released on the heels of an international Aids conference in Durban, South Africa, that started on Tuesday which said that HIV/Aids cases were on the rise in Pakistan. It said that the number of HIV infections in Pakistan grew at an average of 17.6 per cent a year from 8,360 to 45,990 during the period 2005-2015. The combination of the high number of new infections and low antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage has proven deadly in Pakistan, it added.
An official privy to the development said that the religious affairs ministry is also a stakeholder in the proposed legislation as the family laws also fall under their jurisdiction. “The religious affairs ministry is bound to give its input as without its consent an amended bill cannot move further,” he added.
Ministry of Religious Affairs Director General DG (Research) Noor Salam Shah said that the ministry had received the draft for input and a meeting between the ministry’s officials and Parliamentary Secretary Sheikh Aftab will be held on July 25 in this regard. “So far, the draft is at the initial stage and the ministry has also called its internal meeting to get input from religious scholars.
Apparently, there is nothing in the draft which could be opposed and hopefully the ministry will support the bill,” he said. Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid also said that it was a good initiative of the government. He said that however he had not received any draft and the ministry would examine the draft after consulting all stakeholders.
