ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) chairman, Maulana Mohammad Khan Sheerani, on Tuesday said the Constitution demanded that all bills and amendments should be referred to the Council before tabling them in the parliament.

“This is a constitutional requirement that all existing and new laws have to be in accordance with Shariah,” he said while talking to media after a seminar at the council’s secretariat.

Maulana Sheerani said the draft bill should first be sent to the council and then to the law ministry.

Apart from highlighting various articles of the Constitution, the CII chief also quoted various rulings by the judiciary in support of his argument.

The Maulana said: “The mover of a bill has to give an undertaking that the law or amendment being presented is either in accordance with Quran and Sunnah or it does not contradict Shariah.”

He said it would ensure that all the laws in the country would be welfare-oriented and in accordance with the guidelines of Islam.

“All those laws that are contrary to Quran and Sunnah are actually ‘unjust’ and should be repealed as soon as possible,” he added.

Despite repeated queries by media, Maulana Sheerani declined to comment on the military courts bill approved by the parliament.

He only said the CII would give its ruling after discussing it in a meeting. “Though the CII has powers to take suo motu, we will wait until the government gives the bill to the council officially,” he said.

On the other hand, the human rights activists have criticised the stance taken by Maulana Sheerani on the grounds that the CII is a non–elected body which cannot overrule the decisions of the parliament.

Asma Jehangir, a senior human rights activist, questioned Maulana Sheerani’s understanding of the Constitution.

“How could the Maulana dictate people of this country on constitutional matters,” Asma Jehangir said.

Incidentally, Maulana also decried democracy and said that there were several flaws in the structure of this system and it will only lead to chaos.

“The current system of governance was neither Islamic nor democratic,” maulana Sheerani, who is an MNA of JUI-F said.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2015

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