KARACHI, June 10: Zara Sochieye (THINK) is an initiative by GEO Television Network that attempts to debate issues that promote and/or represent imbalance and injustice in the Pakistani society and have divided it for years.

On an issue like the Hudood Ordinances, GEO wants to empower its audience with information on all aspects of the law so that they can independently decide what position they want to take. “We think this is a difficult task, and therefore, we are invoking people to think with our slogan, ‘Zara Sochieye’,” says a press release.

This particular issue should be seen as a part of a continued effort to shed light on ’controversial’ issues which, in actuality, might be less controversial than people think. They might be considered controversial because they haven’t been explored enough due to intolerance, lack of information, parochial mindset and political circumstances.

The decision to repeal or retain the Hudood Ordinances will have to be made by the people of Pakistan through their representatives in the National Assembly. For its part, GEO brought together religious scholars from all schools of thought in Islam and they have been interviewed regarding different aspects of the Hudood Ordinances and their relation to the laws prescribed through the Quran and Sunnah.

The ordinances have been seen as a man made law and a human interpretation of Hudood Allah – not as the Hudood Allah itself. An achievement that should be recorded is that all religious scholars have established the point that Hudood Ordinances, unlike Hudood Allah, is a man made law that can be discussed and improved upon.