'Blasphemy' Laws Should Be Repealed, Not Changed, Says Director
While some have asked for changes to be made to the controversial blasphemy law and Hudood ordinance, many others have called for their repeal.
While the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) recently called on Pakistan to change its controversial blasphemy laws, another human rights organization, the Pakistani Commission of Peace and Human Development (CPHD), has rejected suggested changes to the Hudood and blasphemy laws being considered by the National Assembly to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice.. In a statement issued on Monday, CPHD Executive Director Waseem Anthony said the changes would not insure that the laws were not being abused.
The Hudood Ordinance, enacted in 1979, is claimed to be based on Muslim Sharia (Islamic law), however it has reportedly been misused in many cases against women and seen as discriminatory.
According the Pakistani Daily Time, Anthony said that the abuse of the law was evident from the fact that superior courts had acquitted 95 percent of women accused in Hudood cases. In 1979, there were only 70 women in prisons all over Pakistan. By 1988, this figure was 6,000. Anthony stated that the number of prosecutions under the Zina ordinance--which criminalizes extramarital sexual relations
