‘The last Jew in Pak’ gets nod to profess Judaism

Islamabad, March 27 

Pakistan has allowed a 29-year-old Jewish activist to change his religion from Islam to Judaism, an unusual move by authorities in the Muslim-majority country.

In normal circumstances, it would have been a normal practice to let Fishel Benkhald get religion of his choice in the column of religion for the forms filled to get national identity card and passport.

But it was a task for Benkhaled as he was registered as a Muslim, and it could be interpreted as apostasy, which is punished with death according to strict Islamic teachings. The ministry of interior has recently given the green light in response to Benkhaled’s application where he had sought ‘conversion/correction’ of his religion from Islam to Judaism in his national identity documents, the Express Tribune reported.

In the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), Benkhald is registered as a Muslim. Faisal, as he is known in his current identity documents, was born to a Muslim father and a Jewish mother in Karachi in 1987. He was registered as a Muslim due to his father’s religion.

However, he made an appeal to the NADRA to allow him to return to the religion of his choice, Judaism, by correcting it in a smart ID card he had applied for last year.

Pakistani Jews, a few in numbers, usually hide their identity from public. According to a top NADRA official, their identity details, such as house addresses, in the authority’s records are treated as top secret. There are some 745 registered Jew families in Pakistan, the official said.

His interesting story in past had caught attention of international media where he was dubbed ‘The Last Jew in Pakistan’. — PTI