04-07-2008, 10:12 PM
<b>Paki's Islamic Justice System</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?p..._7-4-2008_pg3_6
That the state has not executed anyone in this manner by no means glorifies the formal courtsâ track record. Deaths have been ordered, sparking outrage and protests predominantly led by human rights activists, thus pressuring the courts to dismiss the orders.
Take the Fehmida-Allah Bukhsh case. The couple were convicted and sentenced to death by stoning under the Zina Ordinance in September 1981. Under immense national and international pressure the verdict was set aside.
<b>In 1983, the 13-year-old blind Safia Bibi, raped by her employer and his son, was sentenced to stoning to death for adultery. Her rapists, however, were acquitted.</b> Once again jurists and activists protested, compelling the court to set the young girl free.
Shahida Parveen and Muhammad Sarwar met with similar fate in 1988. Twenty-six-year-old Zafaran Bibi of Kohat was ordered to be stoned to death in 2002 for having extramarital relations. Bibi claimed that she was raped by her brother-in-law in a remote village of north-western Pakistan.
Again, submitting to public outrage, the court acquitted her but shied away from punishing the rapist.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?p..._7-4-2008_pg3_6
That the state has not executed anyone in this manner by no means glorifies the formal courtsâ track record. Deaths have been ordered, sparking outrage and protests predominantly led by human rights activists, thus pressuring the courts to dismiss the orders.
Take the Fehmida-Allah Bukhsh case. The couple were convicted and sentenced to death by stoning under the Zina Ordinance in September 1981. Under immense national and international pressure the verdict was set aside.
<b>In 1983, the 13-year-old blind Safia Bibi, raped by her employer and his son, was sentenced to stoning to death for adultery. Her rapists, however, were acquitted.</b> Once again jurists and activists protested, compelling the court to set the young girl free.
Shahida Parveen and Muhammad Sarwar met with similar fate in 1988. Twenty-six-year-old Zafaran Bibi of Kohat was ordered to be stoned to death in 2002 for having extramarital relations. Bibi claimed that she was raped by her brother-in-law in a remote village of north-western Pakistan.
Again, submitting to public outrage, the court acquitted her but shied away from punishing the rapist.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->