Amritsar: Sikhs in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) have initiated a move to get the KPK Sikh Anand Karaj Bill, 2026, passed by the provincial assembly, seeking legal recognition and registration of Sikh marriages in the province.The move comes even as KPK’s Sikh population has dwindled over the years, with many members of the community migrating to Pakistan’s Punjab province amid targeted attacks and violence in which several Sikhs have been killed.KPK assembly member and vice-chairperson of the parliamentary caucus for minority affairs Babaji Gorpal Singh said in an online post that the proposed legislation had entered an important phase and would provide for registration and legal recognition of Sikh marriages and protection of associated family rights.After scrutiny by the law department, the bill will be placed before the cabinet committee on legislation and subsequently the provincial cabinet before being tabled in the KPK Assembly, he said.According to Gorpal, registration of an Anand Karaj under the proposed law would be recognised for legal and civil purposes, providing a legal basis for family rights relating to inheritance, alimony, guardianship, family registration and identity documents.The proposed legislation, he said, would address a long-standing demand of the Sikh community for an effective legal and administrative mechanism governing marriage registration and related matrimonial matters.Pakistan’s Punjab Assembly had passed the Punjab Sikhs Anand Karaj Marriages Act in 2018.Intelligence sources monitoring the development said the timing of the KPK initiative, ahead of Guru Nanak Dev’s birth anniversary celebrations at Nankana Sahib in November, could be aimed at drawing the attention of the international Sikh community. The celebrations are expected to attract Sikh devotees from across the world.The sources linked the initiative to Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president and Punjab minority affairs minister Ramesh Arora, who had earlier announced an initiative concerning gurdwaras across Pakistan.
