ISLAMABAD: The Council for Islamic Ideology (CII) has called for making triple talaq (instant divorce) a punishable crime.
Federal Law Minister Farogh Naseem said that Islamic history contained such examples where this act was punished under state laws. He said that the second caliph of Islam Hazrat Umar (pbuh) had punished those people who performed the act of triple talaq. “The NA can make laws to categorise this act as a crime,” he added.
Responding to a query, Ayaz said that no punishment has been decided in this connection yet. “If the law ministry accepts our suggestion to make this action a punishable offence, the punishment can be decided accordingly,” he added.
He said, “If divorce is not a crime, then further legislation should be avoided.” He further said that if precedence has already been set by the righteous Caliph then we should follow it without question, he added.
Later, the committee postponed further discussion on the divorce and inheritance bill until the next meeting.
On this, the law ministry officials said that out of 40 ministries, only a few had made the effort to respond to the committee’s queries.
The committee members decided to summon all those secretaries who have so far failed to reply to their queries in the next meeting.
While discussing legislation, Fatyana informed the committee that 51 bills had been tabled in the NA, adding, “Out of these, around 39 were related to women and 30 were related to children.”
During a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice, the CII members while replying to Member of National Assembly (MNA) Bashir Virk said that a divorce is finalised by uttering the word talaq thrice in one go.
Federal Law Minister Farogh Naseem said that Islamic history contained such examples where this act was punished under state laws. He said that the second caliph of Islam Hazrat Umar (pbuh) had punished those people who performed the act of triple talaq. “The NA can make laws to categorise this act as a crime,” he added.
In response to the law minister’s recommendation, the CII Chairman Qibla Ayaz said that triple talaq should be made a punishable crime in Fiqah Hanafi.
Responding to a query, Ayaz said that no punishment has been decided in this connection yet. “If the law ministry accepts our suggestion to make this action a punishable offence, the punishment can be decided accordingly,” he added.
The law minister cautioned the committee that a decision in this regard needed to be taken after thorough research as it would open the doors for police to demand bribes from the public.
He said, “If divorce is not a crime, then further legislation should be avoided.” He further said that if precedence has already been set by the righteous Caliph then we should follow it without question, he added.
Later, the committee postponed further discussion on the divorce and inheritance bill until the next meeting.
During the meeting, the committee Chairman Riaz Fatyana expressed annoyance with the ministries which failed to provide details of more than 750 laws sought by the committee in a previous meeting. He said that four or five officials should be called in the next hearing to apprise the committee why the required information was not provided per their directives.
On this, the law ministry officials said that out of 40 ministries, only a few had made the effort to respond to the committee’s queries.
The law ministry recommended that three month salary of the secretaries of those departments should be withheld which fail to follow the directives of the standing committee.
The committee members decided to summon all those secretaries who have so far failed to reply to their queries in the next meeting.
While discussing legislation, Fatyana informed the committee that 51 bills had been tabled in the NA, adding, “Out of these, around 39 were related to women and 30 were related to children.”