The People's Commission for Minorities' Rights (PCMR) has warned the government that establishing another ineffective and powerless commission for minorities will fail to achieve the meaningful inclusion of religious minorities in policy-making. Therefore, the proposed structure of this commission will not address the issue of their marginalisation within the system. The autonomy of this body will depend on the independence of its founding instrument, as well as the strength of its composition and the quality of its appointments. The PCMR stated that a rights body that fails to meet the UN Paris Principles, including having a competent composition, would be unacceptable to minorities.
In a joint statement issued by Peter Jacob, the Chairperson, Justice (R) Kailashnath Kohli, Dr. A H Nayyar, and Michelle Chaudhry, provincial heads of Punjab and Balochistan, they referred to the ministerial meeting headed by Rana Sanaullah, the Advisor to the Prime Minister. The PCMR representative stated that for over 30 years, a powerless minorities’ commission had been established. As it was ineffective, it failed to address the grievances of religious minorities. It is regrettable that the federal government is repeating the same mistakes, which will not serve the purpose of integrating religious minorities.
Therefore, the proposed commission, through legislation, should be a rights-based body. "We demand that its powers must be equivalent to those of the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR).” They cautioned that any attempt to weaken the commission, such as by including unnecessary representation from the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), would make it contradictory and unequal to other human rights bodies functioning in the country. Since the constitution of Pakistan does not suggest a role for the CII in matters related to religious minorities, the government should avoid making the CII a part of any controversy.
The PCMR statement emphasised that the government must consult relevant rights organisations, especially since the commission will function as a human rights body. Furthermore, they called for the autonomy of the National Commission for Minorities’ Rights. The PCMR representatives also demanded that the commission adhere to the directives in the Supreme Court of Pakistan's 2014 Jilani judgment, delivered by Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, which addressed the inclusion of minorities in policy-making.