Law

Blasphemy law

Anti-Terror law

The new law empowers the country’s security forces to withhold information on the location of any individual detained on a terrorism charge, or the location of an internment centre for interrogating suspects. The necessary laws have come in a week of bloody carnage in parts of the country as terrorists have continued attacks on innocent citizens.

 However, Pakistan’s has a troubled history where security forces in the past have been accused of gross human rights violations while carrying out their operations and hence there must be an immediate push to erect safeguards to prevent their abuse.  For instance, a publicly known oversight mechanism should be established to guard against their abuse.

 Equally vital is the need to discuss and agree on long overdue reforms in the judicial system that are essential to fairly prosecute and sentence individuals involved in cases of terrorism. For too long, Pakistan has been surrounded by much anecdotal evidence suggesting gaps such as inadequate security in place for judges who are assigned to deal with cases of terrorism. Unless there are foolproof mechanisms in place to deal with this gap, prosecution of terrorism suspects will continue to remain weak. The use of novel ideas such as hiding the identity of judges who preside over terrorism trials must be considered in dealing with Pakistan’s security emergency, before it becomes an out-of-control security calamity.

qisas and Diyat law

THE Qisas (retribution) and Diyat (blood money) provisions of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) were introduced 23 years ago.

The law defines Diyat as “compensation specified in section 323 payable to the heirs of the victims.” Similarly, Qisas is defined as “punishment by causing similar hurt at the same part of the body of the convict as he has caused to the victim or by causing his death if he has committed qatl-i-amd in exercise of the right of the victim or a Wali.”

 This law has made murder more of a civil offence than a criminal one and has allowed murderers to walk scot free out of court rooms after admitting to killing people – all in the name of divinely sanctioned Islamic law. The murder rate has increased since the qisas and diyat laws were introduced contrary to the claims of its supporters.

 In PLD 1992 Pesh 187, one Ishtiaq murdered his sister in cold blood to obtain her real estate property. The compromise between him, his parents and siblings was accepted and he went free. In 1993 PCrLJ 1795, one Hanif murdered his wife’s sister since he thought that she was going to marry a man he wished his sister to marry. Hanif went scot-free after his wife and her parents forgave him. 

 Diyat in the form of a razinama is elitist as it allows a financially well off person to get away with murder (provided the wali agrees). It is an injustice that rich people have the unfair and unjust advantage of offering a large amount of money to financially poor heirs as it allows the former to entice the latter with money. A justice system biased towards the elite cannot work.

Anti-Narcotics Policy 2010

Drug Supply Reduction

Drug Demand Reduction

seeks international         cooperation in order to:

• Promote and actively participate in bilateral, regional and international efforts to combat drugs.
• Supple reduction in source countries need to be an important part of international efforts.
  

major problem

Involved in some form drug abuse:

5.8 percentage of adult population

25 percentage of youth population

to improve the problem the authorities should:

• Conduct a drug abuse survey.
• Effective, efficient and accessible drug treatment systems.
• Extend drug treatment facilities in prisons.
• Treatment and rehabilitation of women and children.
• Develop curriculum against drugs .
• All labour unions should be engaged.
• Recreational facilities .
• Community mobilization and awareness campaigns.
• Role of political parties in social movement.
  

censorship law

Censor: To  suppress parts of a book, film/movie, etc. that are considered to be offensive, immoral or a political threat.

Censorship: The act or policy of censoring.

News coverage of brutal terrorist attacks

Since 2007,

focus on the appropriate way to cover disturbing events such as suicide bombings.

before 2002

3 television stations.

1 radio station.

(Government-run)

Pemra (pakistan electronic media regulatory authority)

To monitor airwaves

To implement media legislation

examples

On 22 Feb 2008, because of "non-Islamic" objectionable videos.

On 20 May 2010, on Everybody-Draw-Mohammed Day because it contained "blasphemous" material.

On 17 Sept 2012 and also in 2013, PTA blocked YouTube after the website did not remove the trailer of a film insulting Islam.

Usual Justifications:

subversive

blasphemous

heretical

obscene

pornographic

or otherwise offensive or harmful.

Censorship prevents our society from expanding toward the future goals that we must set in life.

It is against the human right of freedom of expression, and it restricts our growth as a nation.

The right of free speech to all humans is an inalienable right, a right that cannot be given or taken away by governments because it is a right we are born with.

Censorship must be fought, otherwise those in power will be able to tell us what we are allowed to talk about or read about. 

we must be free