ISLAMABAD - Islamic Ideology Council on Wednesday supported the move of pronouncing ‘triple Talaq (divorce)’ at once punishable offence and decided to engage ulema from different schools of thought to decide quantum of the punishment.
The council also discussed and agreed to revise the Talaq (divorce) form and to make it more comprehensive to remove the legal lacunae in it.
Sharing details of the CII meeting, the council’s chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz said that the decision of declaring triple divorce at once was made as it had been turning out a big social issue and leading to complexities in society.
He further informed that the CII would be calling ulema moot shortly to fine-tune the CII decision on declaring triple talaq a punishable offence. The quantum of punishment will also be finalised in the consultation with the ulema belonging to various schools of thought, he said.
Dr Qibla Ayaz said that the council had also decided that to remedy the prevalent divorce rate and other such issues, adding that a consolidated form for divorce would be prepared which would include punitive measures for cases in which divorce is declared 3 times in one sitting.
A draft for the consolidated form will be submitted for the federal government’s review, the CII chairman said, adding that work had already begun on the form and that it would be ready soon.
Dr Ayaz said that ‘on-the-spot’ divorce had become a widespread social issue, incidences of which are reported on a daily basis to various mosques, after which the matter is taken to court.
Members of the council during the meeting observed that in such situations, women and children are adversely affected, especially with regard to their emotional health and future education.
It was decided that a nationwide effort would be launched by the council to consult scholars and impress upon them urgency of highlighting and promoting family values in Friday sermons.
Another important issue raised and discussed in the meeting was that of child marriages. Dr Ayaz said that the council considered children below the age of 16 as under-aged.
He said that after consultation with religious scholars and experts on social issues, the matter would further be discussed in the next council meeting.
The council has urged the government to start an awareness drive with assistance of religious scholars to discourage people from supporting underage marriages. It was also recommended that educational institutions should also carry out similar drives to raise awareness in this regard.
CII backs move to declare triple divorce punishable