The meeting affirmed that abolishment of death penalty was against the Islamic shariah and called upon the government to send the bill for deliberation to the council prior to table any such bill in the parliament. The government is currently contemplating to convert the death penalty into life imprisonment on the demand of European Union in lieu of getting generalised system of preferences (GSP) plus as well as other international human rights organisations. Sources said that the government was considering a bill in this regard to be tabled in National Assembly in order to abolish the death penalty by converting it into life term.
The PPP government, which had announced moratorium on executions since November 2008, carried out its first execution this year when Mohammed Hussain, a soldier who was convicted and sentenced to death in 2009 for murdering one of his colleagues, was hanged in November. The CII is a constitutional body to oversee any legislation being made by the parliament in contradiction with the Islamic teachings and give its recommendations.
According to former chief of Jamaat-i-Islami, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the CII has so far presented some 9,000 recommendations, but the present as well as the past governments have been showing no interest in their implementation. Besides, the council also called upon the Federal Shariat Court to expedite hearing on the pending cases against Riba (interest). Similarly, the CCI also discussed and made recommendations on Domestic Violence Bill, the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices (Criminal Law Amendment) Act, 2011 and the Child Marriages Restraint (Amendment) Bill.