CII says castration ‘un-Islamic’
The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on Wednesday declared the proposed law to make rape offenders impotent as contrary to the teaching of the religion and gave suggestions to replace it.
According to a statement issued by the 225th two-day session of the CII, the council declared the punishment to make rape offenders impotent as “un-Islamic”.
Last year, Prime Minister Imran Khan had suggested chemical castration of sex offenders to prevent them committing the same crime in the future, days after the Lahore-Sialkot motorway gang-rape incident which shook the collective conscience of entire nation.
PM Imran later directed the law ministry and the departments concerned to finalise the law as quickly as possible and leave no lacunae that could lead to providing relief to the accused. “Such crimes are not tolerated in any civilised society.”
Read more: ‘Chemical castration, death penalty’: Draft of anti-rape ordinance finalised
The federal cabinet then went on to approve in principle the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Ordinance, 2020, and the Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. IT later sought the opinion of the CII on the matter.
“The law carries severe punishments for sex offenders including chemical castration and death penalty,” Federal Law Minister Farogh Naseem said after chairing a meeting to put the finishing touches to the law.
The CII statement also read that the council had approved a bill to legislate on the sighting of the crescent.
Training sessions on the sighting of the crescent should be held in different districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Also read: PM Imran suggests 'chemically castrating' sex offenders
The council endorsed a bill to make Arabic compulsory in educational institutions.
“It is a religious and constitutional requirement to take steps for the teaching of Arabic language, it added.
“Persian, Turkish and Chinese should also be included in the curriculum as an optional subject in secondary schools.”
The council also expressed its concerns over the ethical developments in seminaries and modern educational institutions.
The council suggested convening a national education conference on combating sexual harassment in educational institutions.
The CII also expressed it concerns over the forest fires in Margalla hills and directed the government and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to ensure the protection of the environment.
The council called for an investigation into the fires and stern punishment for those responsible for them.