Translated by Inkuest Team1 
The appointment of supreme court judges becomes a matter of national political debate in our country. But what’s disturbing is that neither the parliament nor the media have ever discussed the fact that the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) is currently working with only 2 of the required 8 judges. The posts for the remaining 6 judges have been vacant for several years now.
When supreme court benches are formed for hearings, news about the bench is reported all over the media. However, no channel has ever raised an issue on the fact that the Shariat bench of the supreme court has been rendered ineffective for the past two years and that cases from the last century are still in queue for hearing.
Pakistan is a state that has accepted Allah’s Supreme Sovereignty and declared Islam as its national religion in its Constitution under Article 2. It is a country that requires its government, as per Article 31 of the Constitution, to take measures that will encourage people to understand the meaning of life and lead it in the light of the Quran and Sunnah. Do those responsible for this state really want a socio-political system based on Quran and Sunnah, or is Islam used merely as a rhetorical tool to give weightage to their narratives? By simply looking at the conduct of the decision-makers it becomes evident that they virtually want to continue to lead the country as per the legal structure of the colonial era of slavery.
When the Shariat Appellate Bench of the supreme court was created, it was decided that it will include two acclaimed scholars2 as judges. These two judges can be appointed from either the Federal Shariat Court or, if the president wishes, can be directly selected from the scholars in consultation with the chief justice of Pakistan. But, let’s take a look at the “kind treatment” that these scholar-judges are being given to get a clear picture of just how serious our administrative hierarchy and authorities are for the ‘Islamization’ of the country.
The total salary of the esteemed judges of the supreme court amounts to over 1 million rupees per month. In comparison, the scholar-judges of the Shariat Appellate Bench of the same supreme court have an average monthly salary of PKR 266,000, which is even less than the salary of a district court judge. Any amenities such as a car, driver, office, staff, etc. are only provided to the scholar-judges when the bench is hearing a case. All these privileges are provided only for the duration of the hearing and are revoked 10 days (or a maximum of 15 days) after the conclusion of the hearing. The authorities have also decided that the scholar-judges of the supreme court will not be granted a medical allowance. If they fall sick, then so be it! In this country, even a watchman is provided with a medical allowance; but the same privilege is not available for the acclaimed scholar-judges of the supreme court. (Truth be told, the East India Company treated the scholar-judges better in its earlier days than the treatment they receive today).
Now, let’s have a look at the state of Pakistan’s Judicial system’s most important pillar of Islamic law. Keep in mind that it is the Shariat Appellate Bench that has to conduct the hearing of the cases that pertain to the interpretation of the Islamic legal code. Even the cases regarding laws that conflict with Islam are first brought to the Federal Shariat court before being passed on to the Shariat Appellate Bench.
The Rashida Patel case was decided by the Federal Shariat Court in 1989. It was decided in this case that “the crime of rape is Haraba3”. An appeal was made against this ruling but the Shariat Appellate Bench has still to this day not pronounced a decision on it. 32 years have passed since then but the case is still awaiting a verdict. A decision will only be pronounced for this case when the bench will be constituted and the case is referred to it. If the verdict on this appeal had been made earlier, then perhaps General Pervaiz Musharraf would not have had to introduce the Women’s Protection Bill. A legislation against which the Federal Shariat Court has also given a decision and an appeal against this decision is pending before the Shariat Appellate Bench. The last hearing the Shariat Appellate Bench had on this appeal was in 2010. 12 years have passed but the appeal is still pending a decision. Now, a verdict can only be passed on it when a bench will be constituted and the case is forwarded to it.
The same thing has happened with the Court Fees Act. There was no court fee during the Mughal era. But during the era of British colonial slavery, subjects were told: “If you come to seek justice, pay the fee.” Hence, the court fee was imposed. In 1994, the Federal Shariat Court ruled against this court fee deeming “it is un-Islamic and a fee cannot be charged from those who come to the court seeking justice”. But an appeal was made against this decision and the decision on the appeal has not been reached to date. A decision will only be pronounced when the bench will be constituted and the case is referred to it. The Shariat Appellate Bench held its last hearing on 5th December 2020. The hearing was held for 5 days and the bench was dissolved. It’s important to note that out of all such cases how many have actually been placed for hearing before the Shariat Appellate Bench in the last 20, or 30 years, which were directly related to the examining of laws from the Islamic perspective as that was the real purpose of this bench.
If the parliament is sincere to the Constitution, and if it really believes in its supremacy, then it has to answer the questions regarding the dormant state of the Shariat Appellate Bench of the supreme court and why is it unable to implement the necessary legislation in this regard? for how long will these cases remain suspended and for how long will the bench not be formed? Til when will these hearings be postponed? These questions have now become thorns in the collective conscience of society. If there is a need for legislation in this regard, why is it not being done? At least, a regulation can be passed to specify the period of time for which the bench can remain inactive and the maximum duration in which it should decide on the pending cases. For now, no one has any clue about when the bench will be formed and the hearings will take place. Is this how Islamization is done?
1. Originally authored by Asif Mahmood and published in the monthly journal ‘Tarjuman ul Quran” (December 2022) 2. Scholars of Islamic law and Jurisprudence 3. A crime that causes public disruption
The appointment of supreme court judges becomes a matter of national political debate in our country. But what’s disturbing is that neither the parliament nor the media have ever discussed the fact that the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) is currently working with only 2 of the required 8 judges. The posts for the remaining 6 judges have been vacant for several years now.
When supreme court benches are formed for hearings, news about the bench is reported all over the media. However, no channel has ever raised an issue on the fact that the Shariat bench of the supreme court has been rendered ineffective for the past two years and that cases from the last century are still in queue for hearing.
Pakistan is a state that has accepted Allah’s Supreme Sovereignty and declared Islam as its national religion in its Constitution under Article 2. It is a country that requires its government, as per Article 31 of the Constitution, to take measures that will encourage people to understand the meaning of life and lead it in the light of the Quran and Sunnah. Do those responsible for this state really want a socio-political system based on Quran and Sunnah, or is Islam used merely as a rhetorical tool to give weightage to their narratives? By simply looking at the conduct of the decision-makers it becomes evident that they virtually want to continue to lead the country as per the legal structure of the colonial era of slavery.
When the Shariat Appellate Bench of the supreme court was created, it was decided that it will include two acclaimed scholars2 as judges. These two judges can be appointed from either the Federal Shariat Court or, if the president wishes, can be directly selected from the scholars in consultation with the chief justice of Pakistan. But, let’s take a look at the “kind treatment” that these scholar-judges are being given to get a clear picture of just how serious our administrative hierarchy and authorities are for the ‘Islamization’ of the country.
The total salary of the esteemed judges of the supreme court amounts to over 1 million rupees per month. In comparison, the scholar-judges of the Shariat Appellate Bench of the same supreme court have an average monthly salary of PKR 266,000, which is even less than the salary of a district court judge. Any amenities such as a car, driver, office, staff, etc. are only provided to the scholar-judges when the bench is hearing a case. All these privileges are provided only for the duration of the hearing and are revoked 10 days (or a maximum of 15 days) after the conclusion of the hearing. The authorities have also decided that the scholar-judges of the supreme court will not be granted a medical allowance. If they fall sick, then so be it! In this country, even a watchman is provided with a medical allowance; but the same privilege is not available for the acclaimed scholar-judges of the supreme court. (Truth be told, the East India Company treated the scholar-judges better in its earlier days than the treatment they receive today).
Now, let’s have a look at the state of Pakistan’s Judicial system’s most important pillar of Islamic law. Keep in mind that it is the Shariat Appellate Bench that has to conduct the hearing of the cases that pertain to the interpretation of the Islamic legal code. Even the cases regarding laws that conflict with Islam are first brought to the Federal Shariat court before being passed on to the Shariat Appellate Bench.
The Rashida Patel case was decided by the Federal Shariat Court in 1989. It was decided in this case that “the crime of rape is Haraba3”. An appeal was made against this ruling but the Shariat Appellate Bench has still to this day not pronounced a decision on it. 32 years have passed since then but the case is still awaiting a verdict. A decision will only be pronounced for this case when the bench will be constituted and the case is referred to it. If the verdict on this appeal had been made earlier, then perhaps General Pervaiz Musharraf would not have had to introduce the Women’s Protection Bill. A legislation against which the Federal Shariat Court has also given a decision and an appeal against this decision is pending before the Shariat Appellate Bench. The last hearing the Shariat Appellate Bench had on this appeal was in 2010. 12 years have passed but the appeal is still pending a decision. Now, a verdict can only be passed on it when a bench will be constituted and the case is forwarded to it.
The same thing has happened with the Court Fees Act. There was no court fee during the Mughal era. But during the era of British colonial slavery, subjects were told: “If you come to seek justice, pay the fee.” Hence, the court fee was imposed. In 1994, the Federal Shariat Court ruled against this court fee deeming “it is un-Islamic and a fee cannot be charged from those who come to the court seeking justice”. But an appeal was made against this decision and the decision on the appeal has not been reached to date. A decision will only be pronounced when the bench will be constituted and the case is referred to it. The Shariat Appellate Bench held its last hearing on 5th December 2020. The hearing was held for 5 days and the bench was dissolved. It’s important to note that out of all such cases how many have actually been placed for hearing before the Shariat Appellate Bench in the last 20, or 30 years, which were directly related to the examining of laws from the Islamic perspective as that was the real purpose of this bench.
If the parliament is sincere to the Constitution, and if it really believes in its supremacy, then it has to answer the questions regarding the dormant state of the Shariat Appellate Bench of the supreme court and why is it unable to implement the necessary legislation in this regard? for how long will these cases remain suspended and for how long will the bench not be formed? Til when will these hearings be postponed? These questions have now become thorns in the collective conscience of society. If there is a need for legislation in this regard, why is it not being done? At least, a regulation can be passed to specify the period of time for which the bench can remain inactive and the maximum duration in which it should decide on the pending cases. For now, no one has any clue about when the bench will be formed and the hearings will take place. Is this how Islamization is done?
1. Originally authored by Asif Mahmood and published in the monthly journal ‘Tarjuman ul Quran” (December 2022) 2. Scholars of Islamic law and Jurisprudence 3. A crime that causes public disruption
