CII's appraisal of NAB law

Founded in 1962, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) is a constitutional body; it gives legal advice on Islamic issues to the government and parliament. It gives advice to them as to whether a proposed law is or is not repugnant to the injunctions of Islam. It is also entitled to ask them to bring current laws in conformity with Islamic injunctions - a task the CII undertook this week as parliament considers validating the concerned presidential ordinance. The council had met this week to evaluate compliance of Pakistani laws with Islamic injunctions, and founded that quite a few pieces of national laws are repugnant to dictates of Quran and Shariah. It opposed forced conversions and condemned child abuse, but what came under its sharper focus are three sections - 14-D, 15-A and 26-A - of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO). Section 14-D says the burden of proof of the accused's innocence "shall lie with the accused". Not only is such a call on the accused is not only in contravention of universally recognised norm that everyone is innocent until proved guilty, it is also repugnant to Islamic laws. According to Section 15-A, a convicted person "shall cease to hold public office" and "stand disqualified for a period of 10 years" from holding public offices. Section 26-A empowers the NAB chairman to grant pardon under a plea bargain deal.

If application of the National Accountability Ordinance over the last many years, particularly for the last two or so years, is any guide one is left with no other conclusion that it is what witch-hunting in medieval Europe used to be. The so-called accused is incarcerated for months as the Bureau tries extracting evidence of his/her involvement in the otherwise much ballyhooed crime. Simply stated, the person is arrested and then evidence is collected or extracted to establish his or her guilt. Quite a few are in NAB's custody for months without being charged. The Council observed it is not the responsibility of the suspect to prove his innocence, and to keep him incarcerated until solid proof of his crime is obtained is against Islamic principles. And, how come someone found guilty and duly convicted is allowed to escape from the backdoor called 'plea bargain'. If return of looted money is a good enough reason to win freedom then let the ordinary thieves also avail this opportunity - let them go if they return what they have looted from someone's house or shop. Is it a 'Ganga ashnaan' - you take a dip in the holy water to have your sins washed till your next adventure.

Expectedly, the reaction to the CII's recommendation, announced by its chairman, Dr Qibla Ayaz, at a presser on Thursday, should have come from the NAB chairman or his spokesperson. That was not the case. But who could prevent Fawad Chaudhry from tweeting his anti-CII mindset after the Council had rejected his 'moon calendar'. Expressing his '"serious concerns" about performance of the Council, the minister said, "Till today the religious segments of the country have not received any guidance from the ideological council [CII]", and he was also at loss to know the '"logic behind spending millions of rupees on such an institution". Nobody would give any importance to the Chaudhry's outlandish comment on the observation of the Council, but it is coincidental to the ongoing discussion of the NAB law in parliament and deserves due notice - especially when the prime minister is very keen to revive the principles of the 'State of Madina'. It was a bad law when a military dictator enacted it to fix his political adversaries and it remains bad. Not only does it undermine the pristine concepts of justice, it has also divided the nation: while some rejoice over conviction of their political adversaries, others call it an instrument of political vendetta. One would say the kind of tinkering now under way in parliament to humanize its application is not going to succeed. Given plenty of relevant laws, particularly the Pakistan Penal Code, on the national statute book the parliament may think of doing away with this draconian legacy of a dictator.