Short-sighted and visionless policies are invariably bound to backfire. Their lifespan may, however, be of varying lengths depending upon who forms them, for whom and with what reference and effect. This is what the history, a nature's guide for humankind, teaches us right from the day the Supreme Creator Almighty God started inventing rules to live.
The vulnerability to times of such policies is highly likely when they are used as a tool to certify and lengthen detested tyrannical regimes.
In Pakistan's checkered history of a little over half a century, finding policies mostly in the form of legislation that look to have formed sane visualisation is not a task so difficult.
One such legislation in the form of Hudood Ordinance was carried out by the then military ruler, General Ziaul Haq, when he decided to join CIA war on communism way back toward the dying end of 80s.
Islamisation of the society that was then appeared a way to promote militancy needed to find volunteers to wage a 'jihad' against Red Bear in lengths and breadths of Afghanistan acted as a catalyst for such an 'illogical and irrational' legislation.
The law was also used a tool to validate the dictatorship on the back of an 'emerging Islamic state where evils like vulgarity did not have any room'. Being a dictator's decision, the law over the years remained one of the untouchables of our religio-oriented society.
It was only when 'enlightened moderates' decided to join another CIA war, this time against the militancy that was first promoted and now being rooted out, that voices started rising against Hudood, once thought to be a divine set of rules but now being abused publicly.
After Musharraf seized power in 1999, one of the 'most important goals' he set for himself and his government was the promotion of Pakistan's soft image abroad.
As laws discriminatory against women like the one Hudood Ordinance was conceived as an hurdle for soft image by the enlightened moderates, who then gathered around Musharraf to have their share out of the fiesta he had for them.
Pakistan's 'conservative' society then started opening up in five-star hotels of big cities and on media.
This openness of the society on Tuesday was exhibited in the National Assembly 'all woman' show when irritated by their male colleagues' comments on how they should be treated female MNAs besieged speaker's dais for 'their rights'.
Introduction of a bill by PPPP lawmaker Sherry Rehman seeking an end to domestic violence against women erupted a pandemonium when parliamentary affairs minister Sher Afgan Niazi opposed the proposed legislation terming it against Islamic injunctions.
Niazi's comment that Quran allows thrashing of disobedient wives provoked women parliamentarians and triggered protest against him.
Aitzaz Ahsan of PPPP jumped into the women wrangling and proposed a voting to ascertain whether the house was in favour of women protection or bashing, which remained unheeded by the chair.
Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) women parliamentarians accused the minister of misinterpreting the Holy Quran, saying Islam is the religion that guarantees full protection to women.
Meanwhile, some remarks by MMA deputy parliamentary leader Liaquat Baloch against his women colleagues from PPPP sparked uproar in the house and consequently he had to apologise.
The house was clearly divided between liberals and conservatives irrespective of their party lines.
Law minister Wasi Zafar intervened to defuse the mounting controversy and requested speaker Amir Hussain to refer the said bill to concerned standing committee.
But once again, the parliamentary affairs minister interfered and asked the chair to refer the draft bill to the Council of Islamic Ideology to seek its advice as no legislation repugnant to Islamic teachings can be made according to Article 227 of the Constitution.
However, the speaker, through a voice vote, put the motion before the house for grant of leave and the "The Prevention of Domestic Violence Bill, 2006" stood introduced with the consent of majority of lawmakers.
Two more draft bills of similar nature were moved by Mehnaz Rafi and Kashmala Tariq, ie, The Domestic Violence Against Women (Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2006 and The Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood)(Amendment) Bill, 2006, respectively.
Both of the draft bills were introduced with the support of the majority of members.
Proceedings in the Senate next door remained a boring affair. The upper house debated failure of government machinery to protect people from recent flooding across the country.