[DAWN] RAPE crimes remind us of both our failings as a society and the state's failure to appropriately exercise its executive and judicial functions to curb this crime of loathing and depravity. This article sheds light on the reasons for such a momentous failure which, predominantly, is the by-product of lack of education, the absence of awareness and ineffective law-enforcement mechanisms.Politicians and demagogues alike have repeatedly used the sanction and ready acceptance of misconstrued religious teachings to promote their own political ideologies and motives. Such is the captivation with faith that Paks en masse submit themselves to the averments of the pseudo-Islamic politician and are led astray without even attempting to consider the authenticity of the propagator's claims. This bolsters tribal customs and, effectively, the patriarchal construct of the society that supports inequality and the subjugation of women.
In 2006, president Musharraf was applauded for his efforts, as it was his regime's concept of 'enlightened moderation' that led to the new legislation to empower women. This transpired through the enactment of the Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act, 2006 (PWA), which, to the delight of civil society activists, after 27 years of struggle, amended the draconian Hudood Ordinances. By virtue of the amendment, rape now comes under Section 375 of the Pakistain Penal Code 1860 and removes the evidentiary requirement of four male eyewitnesses.
[Dawn] There has been some talk of amending the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 (ATA) to make it more effective in its response to terrorism. It is therefore instructive to view the anti-terror mechanism envisaged by the ATA and see why, despite this law, terrorism has grown unchecked.
[Dawn] MONDAY'S decision by the Council of Islamic Ideology not to have DNA testing in rape cases as primary evidence, as suggested by some, would have come as a disappointment to those who had expectations to the contrary. Giving the council's final opinion on the matter, CII chairman Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani told newsmen on Thursday that even though DNA testing was a useful and modern technique, a court could only take it into account along with other material as "supporting evidence". Evidently, the CII's reformist camp led by Maulana Tahir Ashrafi failed to convince the majority in the CII that the results of a DNA test could be the sole basis for convicting a person accused of rape. The CII chief also rejected the Women's Protection Act of 2006 and defended the blasphemy law by saying it should not be amended.
[Dawn] The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on Monday decreed DNA tests unacceptable as primary evidence in rape cases, but said they could be considered as supporting evidence.
...the creepy-looking former dictator of Pakistain. Zia was an Islamic nutball who imposed his nutballery on the rest of the country with the enthusiastic assistance of the nation's religious parties, which are populated by other nutballs. He was appointed Chief of Army Staff in 1976 by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, whom he hanged when he seized power. His time in office was a period of repression, with hundreds of thousands of political rivals, minorities, and journalists executed or tortured, including senior general officers convicted in coup-d'état plots, who would normally be above the law. As part of his alliance with the religious parties, his government helped run the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan, providing safe havens, American equipiment, Saudi money, and Pak handlers to selected mujaheddin. Zia died along with several of his top generals and admirals and the then United States Ambassador to Pakistain Arnold Lewis Raphel when he was assassinated in a suspicious air crash near Bahawalpur in 1988...