The Application of Islamic Criminal Law in Pakistan Brill’s Arab and Islamic Laws Series Editorial Board H.H. Prof. Eugene Cotran Mark Hoyle Martin Lau VOLUME 2 The Application of Islamic Criminal Law in Pakistan Sharia in Practice By Tahir Wasti LEIDEN • BOSTON 2009 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wasti, Tahir. The application of Islamic criminal law in Pakistan : Sharia in practice / by Tahir Wasti. p. cm. — (Brill’s Arab and Islamic laws series ; v. 2) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-17225-8 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Reparation (Criminal justice)—Pakistan. 2. Criminal justice, Administration of—Pakistan. 3. Reparation (Islamic law)—Pakistan. 4. Punishment (Islamic law)— Pakistan. 5. Blood money (Islamic law)—Pakistan. 6. Criminal justice, Administration of (Islamic law)—Pakistan. 7. Islamic law—Pakistan. I. Title. II. Series. KPL3952.W37 2009 345.5491’05—dc22 2008040108 ISSN 1871-2894 ISBN 978 90 04 17225 8 Copyright 2009 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands To Fatima and Zainab CONTENTS List of Tables ...................................................................................... ix List of Graphs ..................................................................................... xi Acknowledgements ............................................................................ xiii List of Abbreviations ......................................................................... xv Glossary ............................................................................................... xvii Introduction Islamic Law in Practice: The Application of Qisas and Diyat Law in Pakistan ................................................ 1 Chapter One The Study ................................................................. 17 Chapter Two Legal and Theoretical Foundation of the Qisas and Diyat Law in Pakistan ................................................ 57 Chapter Three The Evolution of the Qisas and Diyat Law in Pakistan: A Brief History ............................................................. 99 Chapter Four Assembly Debates on the Law of Murder and Homicide, 1981–97 ....................................................................... 143 Chapter Five The New Law and Judiciary ................................. 165 Chapter Six Impact of Qisas and Diyat Law on the Administration of Criminal Justice in Pakistan ....................... 239 Chapter Seven Conclusion ............................................................ 283 Appendix A: Chronology of Events ............................................... 289 Appendix B: Draft Ordinance ......................................................... 299 Appendix C: The Ordinance 1990 .................................................. 315 Appendix D: The Act of 1997 ......................................................... 328 Appendix E: Tables of the Ten District’s Police Records ........... 354 Appendix F: Tables of the Ten Districts’ Session Courts Records ............................................................................................ 365 Appendix G: Homicide Rate of Pakistan ...................................... 376 viii contents Appendix H: Questionnaire ............................................................. 378 Appendix I: List of Cases ................................................................. 380 Appendix J: List of Statutes ............................................................. 385 Bibliography ........................................................................................ 387 Index .................................................................................................... 403 LIST OF TABLES Table 6.1 Accumulative Data of Ten Districts of the Sample Area Derived from the Police Records ...................................... 258 Table 6.2 Accumulative Data of the Sample Area Derived from the Sessions Courts Records .............................................. 262 Table 6.3 Multan High Court: Murder References Decided by the Multan High Court, 1981–2000 ..................................... 270 Table 6.4 Criminal Appeals Decided by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, 1981–2000 ................................................................. 274 Table E.1 District Multan Police Records .................................. 354 Table E.2 District Khanewal Police Records .............................. 356 Table E.3 District Vehari Police Records ................................... 357 Table E.4 District Sahiwal Police Records .................................. 358 Table E.5 District Pakpattan Police Records .............................. 359 Table E.6 District Lodhran Police Records ................................ 360 Table E.7 District DG Khan Police Records .............................. 361 Table E.8 District Rajanpur Police Records ............................... 362 Table E.9 District Layyah Police Records ................................... 363 Table E.10 District Muzaffargargh Police Records ..................... 364 Table F.1 Sessions Courts Multan ............................................... 365 Table F.2 Sessions Courts Khanewal ........................................... 367 Table F.3 Sessions Courts Vehari ................................................ 368 Table F.4 Sessions Courts Sahiwal ............................................... 369 Table F.5 Sessions Courts Pakpattan ........................................... 370 Table F.6 Sessions Courts Lodhran ............................................. 371 Table F.7 Sessions Courts DG Khan ........................................... 372 Table F.8 Sessions Courts Rajanpur ............................................ 373 Table F.9 District Layyah .............................................................. 374 Table F.10 Sessions Courts District Muzaffargargh .................... 375 Table G.1 Homicide Rate in Pakistan .......................................... 376 Table G.2 Average Homicide Rate per 100,000 Population in Two Decades ............................................................................. 376 LIST OF GRAPHS Graph 6.1 Homicide Rate per 100,000 Population (Sample Area) ................................................................................. 259 Graph 6.2 Conviction Rate from Police Records (Sample Area) ................................................................................. 260 Graph 6.3 Percentage of Cases Undecided and Cancelled by Ten Districts’ Police Records ....................................................... 261 Graph 6.4 Conviction Rate from Sessions Courts Records (Sample Area) ................................................................................. 264 Graph 6.5 Rate of Death Sentences from Sessions Courts Records ............................................................................................ 264 Graph 6.6 Rate of Life Sentences from Sessions Courts Records ............................................................................................ 265 Graph 6.7 Rate of Compromise from District Attorney’s Office ............................................................................................... 265 Graph 6.8 Rate of Acquittals on Merits from Sessions Courts Records ............................................................................................ 266 Graph 6.9 Rate of Total Acquittals from Sessions Courts Records ............................................................................................ 266 Graph 6.10 Rate of Conviction, Multan Bench of Lahor High Court, 1981–2000 .......................................................................... 271 Graph 6.11 Rate of Conviction, Supreme Court of Pakistan, 1981–2000 ....................................................................................... 275 Graph 6.12 Rate of Acquittal, Supreme Court of Pakistan, 1981–2000 ....................................................................................... 275 Graph 6.13 Homicide Rates in Pakistan since 1981 ................. 377 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My foremost and heartfelt thanks go to my doctoral supervisor, Dr Martin Lau, Barrister-at-Law. I feel fortunate to have been able to work with him. His scholarly rigour and deep insight into Pakistani law inspired and sustained me throughout this research, which would not have been possible without his support. Thanks are also due to Dr Lyn Welchman of the SOAS Law Department, whose incisive comments and constructive advice in the initial period of this study were immensely helpful. I have been particularly fortunate to discuss parts of this work with my friend Dr Sarah Amsler, who not only helped to edit the book but also engaged in stimulating conversations about its content. I was very privileged to have the encouragement