Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf called on Saturday for a review of controversial Islamic laws that human rights groups say are discriminatory against women and non-Muslim minorities.Speaking at a convention on human rights, Musharraf said the strict Islamic laws passed under the military dictatorship of late General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1979 should be studied afresh to ensure they were not misused.‘‘The nation should not shy away from re-examining the Hudood Ordinance by scholars, lawyers and legislators within the teachings of the Holy Quran,’’ the official APP news agency quoted Musharraf as saying.‘‘Islam says we must reach a decision through discussion .why should a discussion be opposed on an ordinance which is the creation of human mind,’’ he added.One of the most controversial provisions of the Hudood laws states that a woman must have four pious male Muslim witnesses to prove a rape, or face a charge of adultery herself. Men and women found guilty of adultery face stoning to death or 100 lashes.Secular parties, civil rights and women’s groups say rape and other violent crimes against women have soared since the passage of Hudood laws. Musharraf said the country’s blasphemy law should also be reviewed. The blasphemy law prescribes the death penalty for insulting Prophet Mohammad, other prophets and holy books, but rights groups say it is often used to settle personal scores.‘‘The blasphemy law needs to be looked into so that justice is done and it is not misused to victimise the innocent,’’ Musharraf said. Several Christians and Muslims accused of blasphemy have been killed by religious fanatics inside prisons or police stations.Musharraf also called for a law banning honour killings, in which male relatives kill women deemed to have brought disgrace on their families by having a relationship with a man, or marrying without consent or bringing inadequate dowry. ‘‘Although honour killing is illegal, the passage of law banning it would lend more strength to Pakistan’s efforts to do away with the intolerable practice,’’ he said. —(Reuters)
