SC to take up democracy plea on 5th

The Supreme Court's Shariat Appellate Bench is scheduled to take up a petition that contends that the existing democratic system is against Islam.

A five-member bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed will hear the matter on December 5. The bench also includes Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi and Justice Shakeel Ahmed, while Islamic scholars Dr Khalid Masood and Dr Qibla Ayaz are serving as ad-hoc members.

The Shariat Appellate Bench has been reconstituted after nearly one and a half years. The original petition — challenging the electoral system as un-Islamic — was filed 36 years ago.