LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday reserved judgement on a petition seeking an amendment to the Christian Divorce Act, 1869 after federal Minister for Human Rights Senator Kamran Michael said religious injunctions could not be changed to serve fundamental human rights.

The minister was joined by Punjab Minister for Minority Affairs Tahir Khalil Sindhu and bishops of various sects who appeared before the court to present their views on a petition seeking an amendment to Section 10 of the act.

Mr Michael cited relevant verses from the Bible to support his stance and asserted that religious laws could not be altered to bring them in line with fundamental human rights as that would be a violation of religious principles.

He said the Bible had already prescribed a procedure for divorce involving a Christian couple.

Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah observed that the court was not supposed to interpret the Bible or the Old Testament but to implement the Constitution, which says “the right to practise religion is available to every citizen based on his conscience”.

Challenging these views, MPA Mary Gill of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz explained that the Divorce Act was discriminatory in nature as the Constitution provided equal rights to men and women. She said that in several cases Christian women had had to denounce Christianity in order to escape abusive marriages.

Earlier, Sheraz Zaka, the petitioner’s counsel, argued that Section 10 of the act provided only one condition for a man to divorce his wife, which is imputing the charge of adultery and proving it. He said this went against the dignity of a woman.

The law had been amended in several Christian majority countries to provide for other logical grounds for a Christian couple to seek separation, he explained.

Later talking to the media, Senator Michael said man-made laws could be changed but not “divine” ones. He said the laws of European countries could not be enforced in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn January 21st, 2017