August 04, 2006	Friday	Rajab 8, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 3: The ministerial committee formed to table amendments to Hudood laws in parliament was undecided on a timeframe to do it.

Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani told reporters after a brief meeting of the committee here on Thursday: “We met to develop a strategy for developing a consensus for the smooth sailing of the Hudood laws in parliament.”

The plan worked out by the committee would be discussed with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Mr Durrani said.

Members of all the parties in parliament, especially the opposition, would be briefed in detail about the suggested amendments, he said.

The meeting was presided over by Law Minister Wasi Zafar and attended by the information minister, Women Development Minister Sumaira Malik and Tourism Minister Nilofer Bakhtiar.

Later, the law minister told reporters that it was not possible to table the draft legislation in the National Assembly during the session starting on Friday.

He said amendments related to rape and slander would be made to provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Qanun-i-Shahadat Order, the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act and the Family Courts Act.

Any offence not mentioned in Quran and Sunnah or for which punishment was not stated therein being liable to penal laws would be removed from the Hudood Ordinance and inserted in the PPC, he said. The offences included, kidnapping, abducting women to compel for marriage and selling or buying persons for prostitution, he said.

Since the tazir punishment for rape was not a requirement of Quran and Sunnah, it had been dropped from the ordinance, he said. The proposed law contains only zina liable to hadd for which the punishment is stoning to death if the accused is married or hundred stripes for unmarried.

The requirement of four adult Muslim men witnesses for the offence of zina has been dropped in the ordinance and a new provision requiring only four adult witnesses has been added in the Qanun-i-Shahadat Order, 1984, in accordance with Islamic jurisprudence keeping in view the present circumstances, he said.

The punishment for rape will be death or imprisonment for life in view of observations of the superior courts in such cases. The requirement of four witnesses is only for the offence of zina entailing hadd punishment. It cannot be made applicable to rape for which tazir punishment can be awarded. Therefore, it has been dispensed with and the cases shall now be decided on the basis of direct and circumstantial evidence.

Qazf has been made a complaint case. The compliant procedure and the testimony of four eyewitnesses before trial has been adopted in line with the Islamic injunctions and taking into account the abuse of the provision at the hands of police.

Requirement of proof of qazf by two Muslim male adult witnesses has been dropped and a new article in Qanun-i-Shahadat Order inserted which provides proof of the offence by confession by the accused or other testimony.

A court acquitting an accused in case of zina may proceed against the complainant without further proof.

The punishment of whipping, except for cases of zina and qazf has been dropped. A husband accusing his wife of adultery and she refuting it is being added to the grounds for dissolution of marriage. After such an allegation the woman will have a right to seek dissolution of the marriage. Moreover, a new procedure for lien has been introduced where the husband will state for four times on oath in court that the accusation is correct upon which the court will dissolve the marriage.

Publicising identity of a woman or her family members in case of zina or rape has been made an offence punishable with six months imprisonment, fine or both.