Constitutional petition: Top court moved for imposing Sharia

Lal Masjid’s Abdul Aziz takes federation to Supreme Court

ISLAMABAD:

The top cleric of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid, Maulana Abdul Aziz, has gone to the Supreme Court seeking imposition of Sharia across the country.

On Thursday, Aziz moved a constitutional petition under Article 184(3) through his counsel Tariq Asad.

The petitioner has contended the only solution to eliminate all evils and challenges in the realms of national security, societal cohesion, national economy, war of terrorism and political instability is to enforce sharia law in the country.



The president, governments and governors of Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the National Assembly speaker, the secretary of law, justice and parliamentary affairs ministry and the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) chairman have been cited as the respondents.

While talking to the media, Aziz’s counsel said the allegations against his client of not accepting Pakistan’s constitution have proved false with the petition. “Maulana has adopted the legal way by drafting a petition in accordance with law,” he said.

The plaintiff contends the federal and provincial governments have breached the trust of citizens by not complying with Article 2-A. They have failed to take any steps required under the Constitution to enable Muslims to live according to the teachings and requirements of Islam.

Aziz requested the top court to take steps as envisaged in the Constitution to enforce Sharia laws in the country. He also asked the court to direct the respondents to make necessary amendments in the Constitution for this.

The apex court was also asked to direct the state to provide free and compulsory education to all children between ages of five to 16 years under Article 25-A. The CII should be directed to recommend ways to parliament and provincial assemblies to enable Muslims to live their lives in accordance with Islam.

The petition states that Pakistan was founded on ideological basis rather than on territorial grounds. “Islamic and moral values enshrined in the Objective Resolution represent the aspirations of the nation, and offer moral and historical intuitions for understanding the constitution,” the applicant stated.

He alleged Pakistan’s social sector was being “Indianised and westernised” through the electronic media. The younger generation of Pakistan has been inspired into adopting modelling, singing, dancing and acting as their careers, he said. The petitioner also stated that rights of women were being publicised as if the men were usurping the rights in a male-dominated society.

Aziz also criticised the role of non-profit organisations, especially pointing out the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and the renowned social activist Asma Jahangir. He stated it was on record that during a visit of the Supreme Court Bar Association delegation to India, she had spoken against making a separate state in the subcontinent.

“All these evils are developing due to the negligence of the federal government and its institutions defying the provisions of the Constitution,” the petitioner concluded.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th,  2015.