Govt fixes new value of Diyat

Declaration part of 'Qisas and Diyat' Ordinance 1990

The federal government on Monday increased the value of Diyat (blood money) from Rs2055,936 to Rs2320,202 for the fiscal year 2019-2020.

According to the notification issued by the Ministry of Finance, the blood money value is equivalent to 30,630 grams of silver.

The declaration is part of “Qisas and Diyat” Ordinance 1990.

Diyat in Islamic law is the financial compensation paid to the victim or legal heirs of the victim in the case of murder or bodily harm or property damage. It is an alternative punishment for Qisas (retribution).

According to the law, in awarding Diyat, courts need to take into account the financial position of the convict and the victim’s heirs but the amount fixed must not be less than the value that is declared by the federal government at the start of each fiscal year.

The law was invoked in the case of Raymond Allen Davis, a CIA contractor who shot two men dead in Lahore in 2011.

The incident had sparked a diplomatic furore, resolved when Davis was pardoned in return for a $2.4 million settlement with the men's families.