Act of X of 1991
An Act for the enforcement of
Shari’ah
The following Act of Majlis-e-Shoora
(Parliament) received the assent of the President on the 5th June, 1991 , and is hereby published
for general information:-
Whereas sovereignty over the entire
Universe belongs to Almighty Allah alone, and authority to be exercised by the
people of Pakistan
And whereas the Objectives
Resolution has been incorporated in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of
Pakistan as a substantive part thereof;
And whereas Islam has been declared
to be the State religion of Pakistan
And whereas it is one of the
fundamental obligations of the Islamic State to protect the honour, life,
liberty and the fundamental right[3]
a[4]
of the citizens as guaranteed under the constitution and to ensure peace and
provide inexpensive and speedy justice to people through an independent Islamic
system of justice without any discrimination.
And whereas Islam enjoins
establishment of social order based on the Islamic values of bidding what is
right and forbidding what is wrong (amr
bil Ma’roof wa nahi anil Munkar);
And whereas in order to achieve the
aforesaid objectives and goals, it is necessary to give to these measures
constitutional and legal backing,
It is hereby enacted as follows:---
1.
Short
title, extent and commencement:--- (1) This Act may be called the
Enforcement of Shari’ah Act, 1991.
(2) It extends to the whole of Pakistan
(3) It shall come into force at
once.
(4) Nothing contained in this Act shall affect the personal
laws, religious freedom, traditions, customs and way of life of the non
Muslims.
2. Definition. In this Act “Shari’ah” means the Injunctions of
Islam as laid down in the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah.
Explanation:---
While interpreting and explaining the Shari’ah the recognized principles of
interpretation and explanation of the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah shall be followed
and the expositions and opinions of recognized jurists of Islam belonging to
prevalent Islamic schools of jurisprudence may be taken into consideration.
3. Supremacy of Shariah:--- (1) The
Shariah that is to say the Injunctions of Islam as laid in the Holy Qur’an and
Sunnah, shall be the supreme law of Pakistan
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the
judgment of any Court or any other law for the time being in force, the present
political system, including the Majlise-Shoora (Parliament) and Provincial
Assemblies and the existing system of Government, shall not be challenged in
any Court, including Supreme Court, the Federal Shariat
Court or any authority or tribunal:
Provided
that nothing contained herein shall effect the right of the non-Muslims
guaranteed by or under the Constitution.
4. Laws to be interpreted in the light of
Shari’ah:--- For the purpose of this Act,---
(a) while interpreting the
statute-law, if more than one interpretation is possible, the one consistent
with the Islamic principles and jurisprudence shall be adopted by the Court;
and
(b) where two or more interpretations are equally possible
the interpretation which advances the Principles of Policy and Islamic
provisions in the Constitution shall be adopted by the Court.
5. Observance of Shariah by Muslim citizens:---
All Muslim citizens of Pakistan
6. Teaching of, and training in, Shariah etc.:---
The State shall make effective arrangements:---
(a) for the teaching of, and training in the Shari’ah,
Islamic jurisprudence and all other branches of Islamic law at appropriate
levels of education and professional training.
(b) to include courses on the Shari’ah in the syllabi of the
law colleges;
(c) for the teaching of the Arabic language; and
(d) to avail the services of persons duly qualified in
Shari’ah, Islamic jurisprudence and Ifta in judicial system Islamisation of
education.
7. Islamisation of education:--- (1) The
State shall take necessary steps to ensure that the educational system of Pakistan
(2) The Federal Government shall within thirty days from the
commencement of this Act appoint a Commission consisting of educationists,
jurists, experts, ulema and elected representatives as it may deem fit and
appoint one of them to be its Chairman.
(3) The functions of the Commission shall be to examine the
educational system of Pakistan
(4) A report containing the recommendations of the
Commission shall be submitted to the Federal Government which shall cause it to
be placed before both the Houses of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament).
(5) The Commission shall have the power to conduct its
proceedings and regulate its procedure in all respects as it may deem fit.
(6) All executive authorities, institutions and local
authorities shall act in aid of the Commission.
(7) The Ministry of Education in the Government of Pakistan
shall be responsible for the administrative matters relating to the Commission.
8. Islamisation of economy:--- (1) The
State shall take steps to ensure that the economic system of Pakistan
(2) The Federal Government shall, within thirty days from
the commencement of this Act, appoint a Commission consisting of economists,
bankers, jurists, ulema, elected representatives and such other persons as it
may deem fit and appoint one of them to be its Chairman.
(3) The function of the commission shall be:---
(a) to recommend measures and steps, including suitable
alternatives, by which the economic system enunciated by Islam could be
established;
(b) to recommend the ways, means and strategy for such
changes in the economic system of Pakistan
(c) to undertake the examination of any fiscal law or any
law relating to the levy and collection of taxes and fees or banking or
insurance law or practice and procedure to determine whether or not these are
repugnant to the Shariah and to make recommendations to bring such laws, practices
and procedure in conformity with the Shari’ah, and
(d) to monitor progress in respect of the Islamisation of
economy, identifying lapses and bottlenecks, if any, and suggest alternatives
to remove any difficulty.
(4) The Commission shall oversee the process of elimination
of Riba form every sphere of economic activity in the shortest possible time
and also recommend such measures to the Government as would ensure the total
elimination of Riba from the economy.
(5) The Commission shall submit its reports on a regular
basis and at suitable intervals to the Federal Government which shall place the
same before both the Houses of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) and shall also
respond to any queries sent to it by the Federal Government in respect of establishment
of the Islamic economic order.
(6) The Commission shall have the power to conduct its
proceedings and regulate its procedure in all respects as it may deem fit.
(7) All executive authorities, institutions and local
authorities shall act in aid of the Commission.
(8) The Ministry of Finance in the Government of Pakistan
shall be responsible for the administrative matter relating to the Commission.
9. Mass media to promote Islamic values:---
(1) The State shall take steps to promote Islamic values through the mass
media.
(2) The publication and promotion of programs against or in
derogation to the Shariah, including obscene material shall be forbidden.
10. Protection of life, liberty, property, etc.:---
In order to protect the life, honour, liberty, property and the rights of the
citizens, the State shall take legislative and administrative measures to:---
(a) introduce administrative and police reforms;
(b) prevent acts of terrorism and sabotage and disruptive
activities; and
(c) prevent the possession and display of illicit arms.
11. Elimination of bribery and corruption:---
The State shall take legislative and administrative measures, to eliminate
bribery, corruption and malpractices and provide for exemplary punishment for
such offences.
12. Eradication of obscenity, vulgarity, etc.:---
Effective legal and administrative measures shall be taken by the State to
eradicate obscenity, vulgarity and other moral vices.
13. Eradication of social evils:--- The
State shall take effective measures for enactment of law eradicating social
evils and promoting Islamic virtues on the principles of amr bil maroof wa nahi
anil Munkar as laid down in the Holy Qur’an.
14. Nizami-i-adl:--- The State shall take
adequate measures for the Islamization of the judicial system by eliminating
laws delays, multiplicity of proceedings in different Courts, litigation
expenses and ensuring the quest for truth by the Court.
15. Bait-ul-Mal (Welfare Fund):--- The
State shall take steps to set up a Bait-ul-Mal for providing assistance to the
poor, needy, helpless, handicapped, invalids, widows, orphans and the
destitute.
16. Protection of the ideology of Pakistan Pakistan
17. Safeguard
against false imputations, etc.:--- The State shall take legislative and
administrative measures to protect the honour and reputation of the citizens
against false imputations, character assassination and violation of privacy.
18. International financial obligations, etc.:---
Notwithstanding anything contained in this act or any decision of any Court,
till an alternative economic system is introduced, financial obligations
incurred and contracts made between a National Institution and a Foreign Agency
shall continue to remain and be valid, binding and operative.
Explanation:---
In this section, the expression National Institution; shall include the Federal
Government or a Provincial Government, a statutory corporation, company,
institution, body, enterprise or any person in Pakistan and the expression
Foreign Agency; shall include a foreign government, a foreign financial
institution, foreign capital market, including a bank and any foreign lending
agency, including an individual and a supplier of goods, and services.
19. Fulfillment of existing obligations:---
Nothing contained in this Act or any decision made thereunder shall affect the
validity of any financial obligations incurred, including under any
instruments, whether contractual or otherwise, promises to pay or any other
financial commitments made by or on behalf of the Federal Government or a
Provincial Government or a financial or statutory corporation or other
institution to make payments envisaged therein, and all such obligations,
promises and commitments shall be valid, binding and operative till an
alternative economic system is evolved.
20. Rights of women not to be affected:---
Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the rights of women as guaranteed
by the Constitution shall not be affected.
21. Laws to be enacted by Majlis-e-Shoora
(Parliament) and Provincial Assembly only:--- Notwithstanding anything
contained in this Act or the judgment or any Court, including the Supreme
Court, all laws shall be enacted exclusively by the Majlis-e-Shoora
(Parliament) and the Provincial Assembly, as the case may be, and no law shall
be made or be deemed to have been made unless it is made in the manner laid
down in the Constitution.
22. Rules:--- The Federal Government may,
by notification in the official gazette, make rules for carrying out the
purposes of this Act.
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