Criminal Law (Amendment) (Offences in the Name or on pretext of Honour) Act 2016

In October 2016, Pakistan's Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) passed legislation amending the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 (Act XLV of 1860) and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), in order to deter and prevent offences in the name or pretext of honour. The amendments introduce limitations on the waiver of qisas (pardon), available to the perpetrators of Qatl-i-amd (intentional homicide), consistent with Islamic criminal law principles. Specifically, the new law introduces Ta’zir—discretionary judicial punishment—for an offender guilty of fasad-fil-arz (spreading mischief on Earth), particularly if the offence is committed in the name or pretext of honor. Under the new law, a court may punish such offender with imprisonment for life after considering “the facts and circumstances of the case.”

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