ISLAMABAD, Oct 18: If the recommendations of the Council of Islamic Ideology are introduced in the country, as promised by the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, the banking sector would have to be changed to interest-free mode, and hand-cuffing the accused or convicts need be banned.
The Council of Islamic Ideology, which was part of the original 1973 Constitution, has the mandate of examining the existing laws and making necessary recommendations so as to bring them in conformity with the injunctions of Islam.
The CII has formed some touchstones based on Islamic injunctions, on which it examines all the existing laws. If its guidelines are accepted, Pakistan would no more be a police state, as it currently is.
The first guideline is: “Interest is prohibited in all forms. Therefore the CII decided that all laws which provide legal cover to interest or seek to provide legal shelter to such transactions should be abolished or suitably amended.”
The federal government, however, had made interesting disclosures about the CII report on Riba, before the Supreme Court bench which had remanded the Federal Shariat Court judgment on Riba.
The federal government counsel had stated that Federal Shariat Court judgment, authored by Justice Tanzil-ur-Rehman, had referred to the CII report on elimination of Riba a dozen time.
It was stated that Justice Tanzil-ur-Rehman was himself the author of that report in his capacity as Chairman of CII, before becoming the Chief Justice of FSC. It was the work of only one man and Islamic scholars had differed with him.
The CII has compiled a number of reports, including Report on Constitutional Reforms, Report on Injunctions of Islam and Report on Elimination of Riba.
The CII in its final report stated that upon careful scrutiny it was revealed that a large number of federal and provincial laws were not contrary to any Nass (express injunction of Holy Quran or Sunnah of the Prophet).
It said that a great number of existing laws needed no amendment from Shariat’s point of view.
Guideline No 1: Interest is prohibited in all forms. Therefore all such laws which provide legal cover to interest or seek to provide legal shelter to such transactions should be abolished or suitably amended.
Guideline 2: Islam has declared five things as basic human needs and one residential accommodation is one of these basic needs. All those laws which sought to impose house tax be amended so that one residential house of a citizen of Pakistan be exempted from house tax.
Guideline 3: All laws or provisions whereby the rights of the aggrieved have been made subject to prior approval of any official for seeking redress to his grievances should be abolished or appropriately amended.
Guideline 4: Acquisition and requisition of the property owned by the citizens, should be subjected to free consent of the owner in accordance with the prevalent market price of the property, at the time of payment of the compensation. Under all such acquisition and requisitions, the existing mosques and graveyards should be exempted.
Guideline 5: All laws which provide for payment of any amount or financial benefits, or distribution of the estate of a holder of the amount, account, shares of stock market, insurance, premium, G.P. Fund to the nominee or nominees in the event of death of the holder or the principal should be amended to ensure disbursement according to Shariat to the legal heirs of the deceased and must not be deemed to be the lawful property of the nominees alone.
Guideline 6: No person should be interned or arrested without warrants.
Guideline 7: The sentence of imprisonment should be in accordance with the following principles of the Shariat:
The person should not be handcuffed or shackled. He should not be stripped of his clothes or made to wear jute material. The person should not be punished with starvation or with denial of basic human necessities or facilities. He should not be kept in conditions which hinder the offering of Faraiz.
Every married person should be permitted/facilitated to spend one or two night with his spouse after at least four months. Solitary confinement should be abolished. Double punishment for a crime should also be abolished. All human beings are equal in the eyes of Shariat and their discrimination should not be resorted to in the application of law.
Guideline 8: All laws which deny the citizens of the right of appeal against any decision of government should be amended so as to provide at least one right of appeal against such decisions.
Guideline 9: All human beings are equal in the eyes of law. Therefore, nobody should be discriminated.