The Recommendations of The Council of Islamic Ideology on Family Laws: An Analytical Review

Abstract

Before and after the partition of the sub-continent, efforts were in place to provide a comprehensive mechanism for the resolution of family disputes of Muslims according to the injunctions of Islam. Islam remained the cornerstone of the new state which surfaced as Objectives Resolution. Then, under the 1956 Constitution, a commission was constituted and assigned the task of making recommendations for the Islamisation of the laws of the country. The same institution, with the change of nomenclature, The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), was assigned the same task under the 1962 and 1973 Constitutions. Since then, the Council has examined almost every aspect of existing legislation on family matters, primarily, The Muslim Family Laws Ordinance (MFLO), 1961 and The West Pakistan Family Court Act, 1964. It has recommended amendments for the improvement of these laws. This paper is to identify whether CII has provided adequate recommendations to the legislature to address the issues pertaining to family laws in Pakistan. This paper is qualitative in nature and descriptive analysis has been made based on primary and secondary data. This paper concludes that CII has played its role as per the constitution and published its annual reports in which issues of family laws have comprehensively been addressed. The paper suggests that the advice of the council must be followed in letter and spirit to bring these laws in consonance with the injunction of Islam.