“Islamic justice,” they call this. And it certainly saves on court costs. But when it comes to women being raped, the ease with which the accused can declare their innocence takes on a less appealing edge. It is very difficult to convict men of what the Sharia considers to be sexual crimes (zina). As long as they deny the charge and there are no witnesses, they will get off scot-free, because the woman’s testimony is inadmissible. Even worse, if a woman accuses a man, she may end up incriminating herself. “Pak court dispenses Islamic justice,” from the Press Trust of India, October 18 (thanks to Twostellas):
LAHORE, 18 OCT: In an example of dispensing justice in an Islamic way, a Pakistani court confirmed the interim bail of six top government officials after they swore on the Quran that they were innocent of a scam involving millions of rupees.
During a hearing of the matter last week, a Division Bench of Lahore High Court headed by Chief Justice Mr Ijaz Chaudhry took strict notice of the constant extension in the interim bail of the accused persons over the past year and announced it would give a decision on confirming their bail at the next hearing. Yesterday, when proceedings started in the High Court, the Chief Justice asked the accused to take oath on the Quran in order to decide the matter without further delay.
The accused took an oath on the Quran and claimed they had not embezzled a single rupee. At this, the Chief Justice confirmed their interim bail and directed the accused to deposit Rs 500,000 each as surety. Pakistan’s Anti-Corruption Establishment had registered a case against the six officials in June last year on the direction of the Punjab government.