Senate panel questions legal standing of Council of Islamic Ideology

Senator Farhatullah Babar says after statements of CII, crimes against women have increased as well as their intensity

ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel held on Tuesday the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) responsible for the rise in incidents of violence against women in the country and also questioned its legal standing.

Chaired under Senator Nasreen Jalil, the Senate’s Functional Committee on Human Rights discussed a number of issues in its meeting focusing on human rights situation in the country.

Senator Farhatullah Babar was of the view that after the statements of CII not only the number of incidents against women, especially the recent burning cases, increased but their intensity had also fundamentally soared.



Babar went on to say that after having submitted its final report in 1997 to parliament, the council was still required to submit reports and refer to the corridor of powers. However, he said, the council had stopped doing so. The Senator said the law and justice division should give legal advice about the standing of CII.

Taking the discussion ahead, Senator Sitara Ayaz said the statements by the religious body were ridiculous about women to which Babar added that they seriously needed to review the role of the CII.

Committee chairperson Senator Nasreen Jalil said that the CII's recommendations encouraged a negative attitude towards women and incited violence against them.



She further said that the body's recommendations had increased miseries of women instead of providing some sort of relief.

Jalil said not accepting DNA tests as evidence in rape cases showed the conservative approach of the council.

The body has urged the government to pass the anti-honour killing bill from parliament which was pending since April. The bill is aimed at banning use of Qisas and Diyat in honour-killing cases.