PESHAWAR, June 2: The NWFP Assembly has unanimously adopted the North-West Frontier Province Shariat Bill, 2003, here on Monday.
The Nifaz-i-Shariat Council, comprising Ulema of all schools of thought, has penned the religious law, which shall come into force at once all over the province, including its frontier regions.
The 15-point Shariat Bill was tabled in the House on May 27 by the Mutahidda Majlis-i-Amal government.
The parliamentary leaders of all political parties, the MMA and two minorities lawmakers endorsed the bill that promises imposition of Allah’s rule on the earth through His pious men.
The bill, based on the objective resolution and recommendations of the Islamic Ideology Council, promised protection of personal laws and religious freedom of all minorities in the province.
Abdul Akbar Khan of the PPP, who had proposed 18 amendments to the bill, withdrew all his amendments on a request made by NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani. The chief minister told him it was a comprehensive bill, which didn’t need any amendment at this stage.
Earlier, Anwar Kamal Khan of the PML-N said this bill was an Urdu translation of the Shariat Act, 1991. He said that bill was still valid, because it was at the floor of Senate soon after its passage from the National Assembly. The PML government could not get it implemented as the Nawaz government was dismissed by the then president.
Mr Akbar said that under the Constitution only the Federal Shariat Court and Islamic Ideology Council were competent to interpret this law as all courts could not interpret it.
Bashir Bilour said the Pakhtuns, being devout Muslims, were staunch supporters of the Islamic Shariat.
“You will not find any Sikh or Hindu, as they are in Punjabi and Sindhi ethnic stocks, in Pakhtuns,” he said.
Felix Innocent, a minority MPA, welcomed the introduction of the bill and said minorities were satisfied on the passage of it as they had been given legal protection under this law.
Chief Minister Akram Durrani thanked all Opposition groups for their historic support to the MMA on the bill and hoped this cooperation between the Opposition and the treasury benches would continue in future.
He said that this law had come into force at once all over the province. He said he would follow in the foot steps of late Maulana Mufti Mahmood, who had first introduced Islamic laws in the NWFP in 1972.
