–CII chief says sections 14-D, 15-A and 26 of law are in conflict with Shariah
ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on Thursday termed some sections of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, as “un-Islamic”.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, CII Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz said the council held a two-day-long meeting on the NAO, following which it concluded that sections 14-D, 15-A and 26 of the law were going against the Shariah.
Section 14 of the NAO pertains to the presumption against accused accepting illegal gratification, Section 15 pertains to disqualification to contest elections or to hold public office and Section 26 pertains to the tender of pardon.
Ayaz said that according to the council, handcuffing suspects and airing footage of the arrest on media is un-Islamic. The council had said the same in April last year when it criticised National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and law enforcement agencies for “insulting suspects on the media before the conviction”, saying it violates human dignity.
Additionally, the council said that it was not the suspects’ responsibility to prove their guilt and keeping a suspect in custody for long periods without a case also went against Islamic principles of jurisprudence. It added that plea bargains and turning of suspects into approvers is also against the Shariah.
It merits a mention here that according to the constitution, the CII should only offer its legal advice when sought. However, as per the constitution, the government can make a law before advice is furnished by the council.
Ayaz further said that with the introduction of National Accountability (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019, the accountability law will become further discriminatory.
“NAB law is not compatible with Islamic laws on crime and punishment,” Dr Ayaz said, adding that the council will also review proposed amendments to the law.
Last month, through a presidential ordinance, the government made drastic changes in the country’s accountability law.
After smooth sailing of the three key bills on the tenure of the services chiefs through the parliament, the government and the opposition on Wednesday agreed to discuss and build consensus for legislation on other important matters including the powers of NAB.
As a first step to shun their differences causing delays in the legislation process, teams of the government and main opposition sat together for the first time in the chamber of National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar in the parliament house to forge consensus on five different bills including the National Accountability [second amendment] Ordinance, 2019.
In addition to discussing the NAB law, the CII during its two-day meeting also presented its recommendations for the prevention of sexual violence against children. The CII suggested that a special court be formed to look at such incidents.
The CII also termed forced conversions as un-Islamic and unconstitutional.
FAWAD SUGGESTS TO REMOULD CII:
Shortly after Dr Ayaz’s presser, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter to express “serious questions” about the council’s performance.
“Till today the religious segments [of the country] have not received any guidance from the ideological council,” he said, adding that he could not understand the logic behind spending millions of rupees on such an institution.
اسلامی نظریاتی کونسل کی کارکردگی پر سنجیدہ سوالات ہیں، آج تک مذہبی طبقات کی سوچ کو نظریاتی کونسل سے کوئ رہنمائ نہیں ملی، ایسے ادارے پرکروڑوں روپے خرچ کرنے کا جواز میری سمجھ سے بالاتر ہے، ادارے کی تشکیل نؤ کی ضرورت ہے۔جدید تقاضوں سےہم آھنگ ، انتہائ جید لوگ اس ادارے کو سنبھالیں
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) January 9, 2020
In response to the federal minister’s remarks, Dr Ayaz said Chaudhry’s tweet was beyond his comprehension, adding that the government, Supreme Court and a high court had all expressed dissatisfaction with the NAB law.
“We have reviewed the NAB law from the perspective of the Shariah,” he added.
