ISLAMABAD, July 12: Senator Khurshid Ahmad has said that Hudood and Hudood law are two diverse things and it must be clear to every one that Hudood are absolute and unchangeable while Hudood Ordinance is open to changes and improvement. He stated this while presiding over the concluding session of a two-day national conference on ‘Criminal Law of Islam; Basic Concept and Practical Application’, organized by the Shari’ah Academy of the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) here on Tuesday.

Talking about the objections and reservations of some circles on Hudood Ordinance, Prof Khurshid said that the real issue was not the status of women and the procedure of delivering justice according to the ordinance, but whether Islam be the law of this land or not.

He said that every social system was based on some values. The criminal law of Islam is to protect some of the absolute values of the social order — religion, intellect, life, generation and property.

The holy Quran has made laws Hudood for the protection of these values and the rest of legislation is left for the lawmaker of every nation of any time.

He said that there were many reasons that lead to criticism and opposition from various circles. The main reason of such criticism is to oppose Islam as a code of life.

Speaking on the occasion, IIUI Rector Justice (retired) Khalilur Rehman Khan said “the critics of Hudood Ordinance must come with clear minds that either they are opposing Islamic law as Muslims or non-Muslims”.

He said that there were answers to each question about Islamic law. “If difficulties in implementation of a law is an excuse to abandon that law, what about the constitution and other laws of Pakistan”, he questioned.

Justice Khalil said that qualification for interpretation of all the laws of the world was known, but for interpreting of Islamic law, everyone considered himself qualified and eligible. He suggested that a change in the mindset and training for those who were involved in the enforcement of Islamic laws was greatly needed to achieve success in this regard.

He further suggested that periodical review of the existing laws, training opportunities and refreshing courses for law professionals was a must for the smooth and just administration of judicial system.

Justice Khalil urged the parliament, the bar associations and other relevant bodies to establish research cells for having background information about all the contemporary issues especially related to Islam and Islamic law.

Justice (retired) Sheikh Amjad Ali, while presenting his paper on the ‘Present and future of the criminal law of Islam in Pakistan’ said that as one-fifth of the world population, Muslims of the world have a fundamental right to adopt a law of their choice.

He said that the Blasphemy Law under Article 295-C criticized by some circles but regretfully, they have no objection on the same law that is enforced in 17 countries of the West.

Justice Amjad said that the Hudood Ordinance was not produced by Moulvis, as propagated by some ‘liberals’ but by legend law expert of the region. The commission that drafted Hudood Ordinance in 1979 was presided by Justice Muhammad Afzal Cheema and comprised of eminent ulema and jurists like Justice Salahuddin Ahmad, A.K.Barohi, Khwaja Qamaruddin Sayalvi, Mufti Sayahuddin Kakakhel, Advocate Khalid Ishaq, Maulana Muhammad Yusuf Binori, Mufti Muhammad Hussain Naeemi, Maulana Zafar Ahmad Ansari, Justice Muhammad Taqi Osmani, Mir Ja’far Hussain Mujtahid, Maulana Muhammad Hanif Nadvi, Dr Ziauddin and Tajjamul Hussain Hashmi.

He said that the Shari’ah Academy should constitute a committee to review all the observations and objections on Hudood Ordinance and propose a draft bill on the same subject with most of the genuine criticism adjusted.

Dr Muhammad Yusuf Faruqi, Director General Shari’ah Academy said that the academy would try to constitute a committee of experts to draft a new bill on Hudood and to present it to the ministry of law and justice.