BBC News Wednesday, 2 March, 2005, 13:04 GMT
Pakistan rejects pro-women bill
The Pakistan government has allied with Islamists to reject a bill which sought to strengthen the law against the practice of "honour killing".
The parliament rejected the bill by a majority vote on Tuesday, declaring it to be un-Islamic.
Honour killing is the name given to liquidates where the offender claims the victim, usually a woman, had brought his family into disrepute.
The bill was rejected after being declared un-Islamic by a majority vote.
Law Minister Wasi Zafar told parliament that there was no need for further amendments in the country's penal code after an amendment bill was pbutted last December.
However, the opposition - along with several women members from the government benches - has continued to call for further amendments, arguing that the law remained riddled with many loopholes despite the amendment.
Tuesday's bill was introduced by Ms Kashmala Tariq, a member of the ruling Muslim League.
"Karo-kari"
Under the so-called Islamic legislation enacted by General Zia ul Haq, Pakistan's Islamist military ruler in the 1980s, proven persons could seek or buy pardon from the victim's family under the Islamic principles of compromise.
The law has remained essentially unchanged since then.
Observers say that it has been grossly misused and has contributed directly to an alarming increase in the practice of "karo-kari" or the so-called honour killings.
Karo-kari is a tradition whereby a man can kill a woman, claiming that she brought dishonour to the family, and still expect to be pardoned by her relatives.
Once such a pardon has been secured, the state has no further writ on the matter.
Women victims
Human rights agencies in Pakistan have repeatedly emphasised that most women falling prey to karo-kari were usually those wanting to marry of their own will.
Islamists have an uneasy relationship with the government
In many cases, the victims held properties that the male members of their families did not wish to lose if the women chose to marry outside the family.
Government and independent researchers estimate that over 4,000 women have fallen victim to this practice in Pakistan over the last six years.
In December last year, the government pbutted a bill making karo-kari punishable under the same penal provisions as liquidate.
But it did not alter the provisions whereby the accused could negotiate pardon with the victim's family under the so-called Islamic provisions.
These provisions often in conflict with the Anglo-Saxon law inherited by Pakistan in 1947.
Observers in Pakistan say that the defeat of Ms Tariq's bill is a clear indication of the influence that the conservatives still wield on policy-making in Pakistan, despite President Musharraf's liberal outlook. =============================================================================================== * Amendments by Kashmala propose changes in CrPC Bill 2005 * Law minister calls bill un-Islamic * Government, MMA Rejects Amendments
Khurshid Afgan said that women should not get more liberty than Islam allowed them
The Daily Times, Lahore, Pakistan Wednesday, March 02, 2005
MMA, govt reject Karo Kari bill By Irfan Ghauri and Mohammad Imran
ISLAMABAD: Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) parliamentarians supported treasury members to reject by majority vote a proposed bill seeking amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure Bill 2005 (amendments in Section 401 and 417 and insertion of a new Section of 345-A), related to Karo Kari.
The bill was tabled by treasury MNA Kashmala Tariq suggesting three amendments related to the issue of Wali, compoundability and the remission of sentence.
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The MMA parliamentarians supported the government in rejecting the bill while Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP-P) strongly supported the bill. Heated debate took place from both the opposition and treasury.
Law Minister Wasi Zafar opposed the bill calling it "un-Islamic". He said the government had pbutted a comprehensive law on Karo Kari. Kashmala pressed that the bill pbutted by the parliament on Karo Kari had loopholes and the issues of compoundability and state as Wali were not addressed in the law. .....
..... Riaz Fatiana who was presiding over the proceedings sought the view of Ijazul Haq, the federal minister for religious affairs, who said that in Saudi Arabian law, the state was acting as 'Wali'. He added that he had not studied the proposed bill in detail.
Asadullah Bhutto said that feudal lords were behind Karo Kari cases. He said Islam did not allow killing in the name of honour. The MMA members staged a token walkout when the speaker did not allow them to speak on the subject.
Khurshid Afgan said that women should not get more liberty than Islam allowed them.
The chairperson declared that the bill stood rejected after the vote on voice count. The MMA members were among those who opposed the bill. ===============================================================================================
DAWN, Karachi, Pakistan 02 March 2005 Wednesday 20 Muharram 1426
MMA joins govt against bill By Raja Asghar
ISLAMABAD, March 1: In what looked like a unity of conservatives, the ruling coalition and the opposition Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal alliance voted together in the National buttembly on Tuesday to kill a ruling party member's bill seeking to tighten the law against honour-killings.
Support to the Pakistan Muslim League member Ms Kashmala Tariq's private bill from the People's Party Parliamentarians and some members of the ruling coalition was not enough to prevent the combined majority of the treasury benches and the MMA from refusing the introduction of the draft designed to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure for the purpose.
The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill had sought to amend the original law to make the offence of honour-killing non-compound able. But Law and Justice Minister Mohammad Wasi Zafar, who opposed the introduction of the bill, said a law pbutted by parliament last year, which defined the custom of honour-killing such as "karo-kari" as liquidate punishable with rest, was enough and there was no need to bring further amendments.
But the author of the new bill and her supporters from the PPP called the previous law insufficient and proposed that a PPP bill on women's empowerment and Ms Tariq's draft be clubbed together for consideration by the concerned standing committee of the house.
PPP's Aitzaz Ahsan and several other members of his party pleaded for making "karo-kari" a non-compound able offence and giving the state, rather than close relations like a father or brothers of a person, the status of "wali" who can grant a pardon. This, they argued, was necessary because often members of a family conspired to liquidate women marrying men of their choice against the family wishes and later pardoned the person. Mr Ahsan said a conspirator for a liquidate as much guilty as a liquidate and "Islam never allows a criminal to pardon a criminal" under the cover of a compromise.
MMA members came out strongly against Kashmala Tariq's bill, which they saw as a move against Islamic teachings and the Hudood Ordinances enforced by late President Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1979.
MMA member Asadullah Bhutto described honour-killing as an un-Islamic act but said: "Right of compromise is given by Islam any law against it will be an interference in religion." After a prolonged debate on admissibility, the ruling party and MMA joined their voices to say "no" to the bill.
The PPP challenged the voice vote and demanded a head count, but PML member Riaz Fatyana, who was presiding over the sitting at the time in the absence of the speaker, ignored the demand and adjourned the house until 3pm on Wednesday.
The treasury benches, despite the absence of many of their members, would have won such a count as well because of MMA's support, but parliamentary sources said the vote would have exposed differences within their ranks on the issue.
In the beginning, Ms Tariq seemed to be a lone voice on the treasury benches, but later received support from PML member Sardar Bahadur Ahmed Khan Sihar and Muttahida Qaumi Movement's Kunwar Khalid Yunus, who also had some problem about a private bill that he sought to introduce but was deferred for a month.
An unexpected backing came indirectly also from Religious Affairs Minister Mohammad Ijazul Haq who, on a query from the chair, quoted the head of the Saudi shariat court as saying the state acted as "wali" in liquidate cases in Saudi Arabia.
"We also want the same," came voices from PPP benches. In a related move, MMA members earlier staged a token walkout from the house complaining that they were not being allowed to express their views on the bill.
Before that the whole opposition marched out of the house twice in token walkouts to protest against the latest increases in the prices of petroleum products announced on Monday by the oil companies advisory committee and the oil marketing companies and alleged rigging of Sunday's by- election for National buttembly seat in Lahore won by a PML candidate. ===============================================================================================
