Certain NAB law provisions against Islam, says CCI

ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on Thursday has declared few sections of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) ordinance as non-Islamic. Talking to media, the CII Chairman, Qibla Ayaz, said that sections 14D, 15A and 26 of the NAB ordinance don’t follow Islamic ways. There is no concept of approver and plea bargain in Islam, he asserted. Later, responding to the CII chief’s statement, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhary said that the council has never provided its guidance in any matter. Spending millions of rupees on such institutions is beyond understanding, he added. The minister further demanded restructuring of the Council of Islamic Ideology. The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on Thursday termed some sections of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, as going against the Shariah. Addressing a press conference on Thursday, chairman of the CII, Dr Qibla Ayaz, said the council held a two-day-long meeting during which it concluded that sections 14-D, 15-A and 26 of the NAO were un-Islamic. Section 14 of the law pertains to presumption against accused accepting illegal gratification, Section 15 pertains to disqualification to contest elections (or to hold public office) and Section 26 pertains to the tender of pardon. Ayaz said that according to the council, handcuffing suspects and airing footage of the arrest on media is un- Islamic. Additionally, the council said that it was not the suspects’ responsibility to prove their guilt and keeping a suspect in custody for long periods without a case also went against Islamic principles. As per the CII, plea bargains and turning of suspects into approvers is also against the Shariah. Ayaz said with the National Accountability (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019, the accountability law will become further discriminatory. “NAB law is not compatible with Islamic laws

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