The National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice Wednesday discussed two bills pertaining to protection of rights of childless widows from Shia sect in getting their due shares from inheritance of their deceased husbands and divorce as per Shia (Fiqh-e-Jafaria) interpretation of the Holy Quran and Sunnah.
The meeting of the committee was held here at the Ministry of Law and Justice with MNA Riaz Fatyana in the chair. The members of the committee considered the bills "The Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (Section 4) (Government Bill)," and "The Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (Section 7) (Government Bill)" and discussed them in detail.
After having detailed deliberations, the committee recommended that the "The Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (Section 4)" may be deferred till the next meeting with recommendation that the ministry will submit the amended draft before the committee in its next meeting.
This bill recommends if a Muslim male from Ahl-e-Tashih dies issueless, his widow will receive one-fourth share from the estate of the deceased and if the deceased has left more than one widows, the widows will receive equal share from the one-fourth share of the property.
The committee also considered "The Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (Section 7) (Government Bill)" and after detail deliberations recommended that the Bill may be deferred till the next meeting.
This bill recommended that a man may voluntarily and with his free will pronounce himself or through duly authorised attorney (Vakil) "Talaq" uttering in literal Arabic words (seegha) in the physical presence of at least two witnesses qualifying the requirements of Qanun-e-Shahadat, 1984.
The bill also says that the pronouncement of Talaq [divorce] will be ineffective if it is done jokingly or under anger, intoxication, insanity, duress or coercion of any kind and from any corner whatsoever.
Due to the paucity of time, the committee remained unable to consider the bills, "The Letters of Administration and Succession Certificate Bill, 2019 (Government Bill)" "The Enforcement of Women's Property Rights Bill, 2019 (Government Bill); and "The Whistleblower Protection and Vigilance Commission Bill, 2019 (Government Bill)."
The committee also deferred "The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (Amendment in Article 1, 51, 59, 106, 154, 175A, 198 and 218)," moved by Rana Sana Ullah Khan, MNA); and "The Legal Practitioner and Bar Councils (Amendment) Bill, 2018," moved by Aliya Kamran, MNA till its next meeting.