KP assembly postpones ‘Muslim Family Bill’ over reservations

PESHAWAR: The government deferred a bill related to Muslim family laws during the consideration stage in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday after religious parties expressed reservations about the amended draft of the proposed law.

The Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was in the consideration stage when lawmaker of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) Inayatullah Khan raised objections to the amended draft claiming certain clauses of the bill are in conflict with the teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah.

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He demanded that the bill be referred to the Council of Islamic Ideology for opinion. Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani chaired the proceedings. Other MPAs of the religious-political alliance supported the member.

Local government minister Shahram Tarakai, who moved a resolution for the passage of the bill, said the draft was cleared by the council ahead of its introduction in the assembly. He said the amended bill was exclusively applicable to all Muslims belonging to the Shia school of thought (Fiqah-i-Jafria).

However, the MMA lawmakers kept demanding the sending of the bill to the CII. The minister agreed with the MMA members and deferred the passage of the bill.

He said the draft bill would be sent back to the council. According to the amended bill, if a Muslim man from Ahl-i-Tashih dies issueless, his widow will receive one-fourth share from his estate and if the deceased has left more than one widow, the widows will receive an equal share from one-fourth share of the estate.

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In case of dispute, with reference to sub-section (2), arising due to differences of opinion, the parties or any of the parties may have recourse to a court of competent jurisdiction or by approaching the Mujtahid-i-Alam.