SHARIAsource

When asked under what circumstances is abortion, or ijhāḍ, permissible and whether it is permissible to have an abortion if one has too many children, Allama Muḥammad Yusuf from Banuri’s Dār al-Iftā', responds that it is not permissible to terminate a pregnancy after fourth months and is only permissible if the mother’s health is at risk from the pregnancy. He adds that it is forbidden to terminate a pregnancy over financial fears of having many children, even if the fetus is less than four months.

On February 6, 2023, the Senate of Pakistan unanimously passed a resolution to bring all existing laws into conformity with Islamic law, or sharīʿa, “as laid down in the Holy Quran and Sunnah.” The resolution also states that no new laws that are in contradiction with Islam shall be passed. Additionally, the Senate demanded that the Pakistani government address the vacant positions on the Federal Shariat Court and infrequent meetings of the Shariat Appellate Bench in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

On January 17, 2023, the National Assembly of Pakistan passed a bill expanding the country’s laws on blasphemy. Previously, Pakistan’s blasphemy laws subjected those who insulted the Prophet Muhammad to the death penalty. The amended blasphemy laws carry a minimum ten-year prison sentence for those deemed to have insulted any of the Prophet’s Companions or Family members, and it renders blasphemy a non-bailable offense.

In its judgment dated December 15, 2023, a majority of the Supreme Court of Pakistan upheld various provisions of the Supreme Court Act of 2023 as constitutional. The majority rejected arguments that the Act sought to interfere with the Court's independence and exclusive jurisdiction over its own affairs and internal organization. Certain provisions of the Act constrain the power of the Chief Justice and provide certain guarantees that some cases need to be heard by a committee of justices as opposed to a single justice or only a few of them. Most importantly, the Court, in upholding the Act, rejected the Chief Justice's power as the so-called "Master of the Roster." Previously, under that power, the Chief Justice had the ability to constitute benches, that is, appoint individual justices of his choosing, who then heard specific cases. Rejecting that power, the Court ruled that the "Master of the Roster" power was alien to the Constitution of Pakistan. Further, the Court noted that the word "master" was offensive and un-Islamic, writing that "Islam establishes the principle of equality . . . ."