KARACHI, June 11: Religious scholars belonging to different schools of thought, who had gathered here to discuss shortcomings and loopholes in Hudood laws promulgated in 1979 by Gen Ziaul Haq, have agreed that the laws need at least three amendments which should be carried out immediately.

The debate was organised by Geo TV under its Zara Sochieye programme.

Mufti Muneebur Rehman, chairman of the Ruet-i-Hilal Committee; Maulana Abdul Malik, MNA of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal; Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, director of the Idara Al Mawrid; and Dr Tufail Hashmi, author of “Hudood Ordinance in the Light of the Book and Sunnah, agreed that the amendments should be made to make the ordinance conform to the laws of Allah.

It was agreed that many false FIRs regarding Zina had been filed and, as a result, innocent men and women suffered long jail sentences. The scholars agreed that an FIR on Zina (not Zina bil Jabr) should not be registered unless there were four witnesses willing to submit a written declaration about having witnessed the act.

The scholars also agreed that there was no concept of keeping women in jails in Islam. The said Islam protected women’s respect and when a woman was sent to jail, her acceptability and respect within the family, community and society were compromised. Even women convicted of Zina could only be given a Hud punishment and not a Tazeer punishment as envisaged in the ordinance.

On the issue of Qazf (false accusation of Zina), Dr Ghamdi and Dr Hashmi said the present ordinance had many weaknesses. Once a case is in court and it is realised that the accuser and/or witnesses had made a false accusation or given false evidence, they should be punished with Hud Qazf.

The scholars agreed that that if an accuser did not bring with him four witnesses, he should be punished with 80 lashes.—Online