ISLAMABAD: The much trumpeted Shariat bill announced by the Nawaz Sharif government last month has run into rough weather with religious groups raising serious objections and opposition parties rejecting it as un-constitutional.
Liberal Muslims, minorities and women’s rights groups have also stoutly opposed the bill which aims at making Islamic injunctions in the Koran and the Sunnah as the supreme law of Pakistan.
In an apparent move to pacify the opponents, the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad government decided to defer moving the bill in the national assembly to amend the constitution to make the Shariat the supreme law, The Shariat bill was then referred to an 11-member select committee of the house.
The select committee in its report presented to the national assembly on Saturday, recommended several amendments to the bill.
But members of the select committee from the opposition Pakistan democratic alliance, Jamaat-Ul-Ulema-E-Islam (Fazlur group) and the Awami national party gave dissenting notes and demanded withdrawal of the bill in its present form.
Former premier Benazir Bhutto’s PDA described Ohxll as a “propaganda ploy:” of the UI slated to Hoodwink the common man, Lwu mosoby violate? ? The Koran and the Sunnah.
In its dissenting note, PDA said the bill would lead to sectarian strife. It said family laws would stand abrogated, no woman would be allowed to work, female doctors would be barred from treating male patients and no woman would be permitted to even drive a car.
The JUL (F) termed the bill as a “joke” and against the true concept of Shariat. The ANP said the bill did not provide protection to the present political system and the existing democratic institutions.
Analysts here say considerable heat is likely to be generated when the amended bill is taken up for debate by the national assembly next week.
Though Sharif enjoys a comfortable majority in Parliament, he may still have a tough time before getting the bill approved since some of the members of the IJI and it sallies have of late questioned the government move, they pointed out.
Sharif is, however, confident that minor irritants would be resolved through consensus Clearing the way for enforcing the Shariat.
BARODA: Three persons including a police sub-inspector (PSI) and a constable were killed and three others seriously injured, as alleged militants opened fire, on the national highway near Karjan town in this western state of Gujarat on Saturday night.
According to the police, six youths armed with AK-47 rifles looted cash worth Rs 50,000 at gun point from our petrol pumps in Por and Kandari villages.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 17, 1991
