It was very strange that the National Assembly rejected a bill suggesting amendments, which requires a rape victim to present four ‘pious men’ as witnesses otherwise she will be punished for the adultery or for lying. The Bill (Enforcement of Hudood), 2005 (Amendment to Section 8), was presented by MNA Kunwar Khalid Yunus of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). The treasury bench, which pretend themselves to be the guardian of women, joined the hands of the clerics and the other hardliners, to reject the amendment of the bill.



MNA Yunus of the MQM opined that the law should be amended because it discriminated against women. He further added that, ‘The Hudood Ordinance was introduced by Gen Zia ul Haq to court Saudi Arabia’s support for his rule. Of the 57 Muslim countries worldwide, the Hudood law was enforced only in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The ordinance had been enforced in 1979 without being incorporated in the Constitution by the then parliament’.