Pakistan demands triple talaq to be a punishable offense

(PTI) Islamabad, Ta. September 6, 2019, Friday

The constitutional body has recommended that a triple divorce or immediate divorce be made a punishable offense in Pakistan, media reports said. The constitutional body provides legal advice to the government in Islamic affairs in Pakistan.

The debate has begun in Pakistan just weeks after India made a punitive crime against a triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat, an instant divorce method adopted by Muslims for divorce.

In the new law, triple talaq, a form of divorce that can be implemented with immediate effect and cannot be changed by Muslim men in India, is illegal. Under the new law in India three times divorce has been declared illegal by speaking, writing or sms or three times through the word talaq through WhatsApp or any other electronic chat.

According to Pakistan's newspaper Express Tribune, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) of Pakistan has recommended triple talaq as a punitive offense in the Islamic nation. The newspaper has quoted Law Minister Farooq Naseem as saying that in Islamic history there have been instances of penalties by the government for such an act.

Hazrat Umar, the second Caliph of Islam, immediately punished the payers. Therefore, the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, should legislate to make this form of divorce a punishable offense by Muslim husbands. Supporting the Law Minister's statement, CII Chairman Dr. Qibla Ayaz said that triple talaq should be a punitive crime in the country.

Asked about the penalty, Ayaz said that the CII has not yet made any decision in this regard. If the law ministry agrees, we can recommend it as a punishable offense and also determine punishment.