Rights groups fear effects of Islamic law

Pakistani and international human rights watchdogs have expressed concern over the legislature in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) passing a new bill on Monday introducing Islamic law, or shari'ah, in the region bordering Afghanistan. "We are deeply concerned with what's happening in the NWFP with regard to the implementation of the shari'ah law," Nelum Asif, the Pakistan researcher with Amnesty International, told IRIN from London on Tuesday. The new legislation calls for the "Islamisation" of existing laws, meaning that they will be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of the Koran. The NWFP government has also called on the central government to implement the shari'ah nationwide. "We do not challenge the implementation of the shari'ah law, but our concerns are that if particular activities are being banned and they affect an individual's ability to earn their livelihood, it curtails their basic rights," Asif said. Rights activists fear that that such moves might eventually lead to a Taliban-like government in the NWFP. "The Taliban forced their will through gunpoint; here it's gradual and through the legislature," Afrasiab Khattak, the chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), told IRIN from Peshawar, the capital of the NWFP. The Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan for six years, imposed a total ban on women's education, employment and mobility. They also enforced shari'ah by compelling people to attend prayers, banned all forms of entertainment and discriminated against religious minorities. Six months after the Islamist coalition of Muttahida Majlis-e Amal or the United Council of Action formed the government in a historic victory in the predominantly ethnic Pashtun-populated NWFP, it has approved legislation that will bring the province's education, judicial and financial systems into line with shari'ah, which is based on the teachings of the Koran. The new law bans what assembly leaders described as "obscenity and vulgarity". The local government also plans to set up a vice and virtue department to punish people found violating the rules, and to establish Islamic courts, which would dispense summary justice similar to that imposed by the Taliban. Shari'ah, according to the new bill, which was unanimously adopted, would be the supreme law in provincial matters, and all courts bound to interpret and explain provincial law according to it. This legislation follows a series of measures applied by the provincial authorities to curb freedom of expression and promote Islamic values. International media reported that hundreds of activists belonging to the ruling alliance went on a rampage through the streets of Peshawar on Friday, pulling down advertisements displaying women's faces. They also cut cable television connections. Police stood by as the crowd, led by a member of the provincial legislature, smashed shop and restaurant signboards carrying pictures of female models. This month, schools were told to replace a uniform of shirt and trousers with the traditional dress of shalwar/qamis (baggy trousers/long shirt). Female students have been told to cover their heads at school. Earlier measures included a ban on huge popular film billboards depicting women, as well as the symbolic burning of thousands of videos and audio cassettes as a demonstration of official intent to curb obscenity. A few months ago, the government ordered the closure of the musicians' market in Peshawar's centuries-old Dabgari Bazar, an action which local observers believe will deprive hundreds of artistes of their livelihoods, and might force scores of female performers into prostitution. The government also banned male coaches from training female athletes. "Islamisation will have negative consequences for women and minorities," Khattak maintained, noting that although the legislation would have a limited impact, as provincial governments in the country have inadequate constitutional powers, zealot followers of the ruling coalition could take things into their own hands by trying to enforce the shari'ah law themselves. Meanwhile, the mayors of all the 24 districts in NWFP resigned on Sunday in protest against the behaviour of the provincial government, which was allegedly interfering in their affairs and had brought an impeachment bill against two of the mayors before the provincial assembly. Local media reported that Pakistan's central government, led by Gen Pervez Musharraf, was considering taking steps against the NWFP government. No details of such measures have so far emerged. Khattak said what was happening was symptomatic of a growing political crisis in the country. "People are suffering in the power game between the mullahs and the military," he said. "We have a situation of being between the devil and the deep sea."