Fifteen bills on CII agenda for next month

Legislation against torture of children is on top of the agenda of the meeting in April

Obaid Abbasi March 28, 2016

Chairman Council of Islamic Ideology, Maulana Muhammad Khan Sheerani. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD:

The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) will take up several bills, including one against physical torture of children, in its 203rd meeting next month.

“The bill against physical torture of children was prepared by CII in accordance with the Islamic injunctions. It will be submitted before the council meeting to be held on April 11 and 12,” CII Secretary Dr Ikramul Haq told The Express Tribune on Sunday.

CII rules women's protection law 'un-Islamic'

The meeting will take up over 15 different proposals and bills, he said. However, CII’s own bill against torture of children will be on top of the agenda.

Ikram said the basic objective of the bill is to protect the rights of children through Islamic legislation. He added that the bill was prepared in compliance with Islamic injunctions so that the children could be protected in the country.

In the last meeting, the council rejected the controversial Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act (PPWVA) and a domestic violence bill tabled recently in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), terming both of them against Islamic injunctions.

Ikram said the 15 proposals and bills were on the agenda items in the last meeting held in February, but the council took up only PPWVA and K-P domestic violence bill.

Bill aiming to ban child marriages shot down

Earlier, the council had asked the Punjab government to review the bill and send it to the council for consideration. However, the provincial law ministry has yet to send the bill despite, Ikram said.

The council will also take up two proposals against distribution of hate material and culture of dowry submitted by Allama Tahir Ashrafi, who retired last month.

Ikram said that although Ashrafi had retired, his two proposals would be considered before the meeting.

Ashrafi told The Express Tribune that dowry was an archaic tradition which was destroying many families. He said there should be a law to protect such families who could not afford to keep up with the tradition. He also said there should be strong legislation against hate material in the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2016.