غیرت کے نام پر قتل اور قصاص و دیت: پاکستانی قانونی نظام کا تنقیدی جائزہ
Honour Killing and Qisas and Diyat: A Critical Review of Pakistan’s Legal System
Keywords:
Honour killing, Qisas, Diyat, wali, pardon, compromise, Fasad-fil-Arz, Section 311, intentional murder, Pakistani lawAbstract
Honour killing is commonly justified in the name of protecting family honour; however, in legal terms, it constitutes intentional murder. The complexity of this offence increases when both the offender and the victim belong to the same family, and the victim’s legal heirs are also empowered to waive the right of Qisas or enter into a compromise through Diyat. This article examines this tension: on the one hand, the Islamic and legal framework of Qisas and Diyat grants the heirs of the victim the rights of retribution, forgiveness, and compromise; on the other hand, the State has a responsibility not to allow such killings to be treated merely as private disputes, particularly when they create social fear, reinforce gender-based oppression, and disturb public order.
This research is based on a qualitative, documentary, and critical legal methodology. It analyses the Qur’an and Sunnah, Sections 299, 302, 305, 306, 309, 310, 311, and 338-E of the Pakistan Penal Code, Section 345 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the legal amendments introduced in 2004 and 2016, selected judicial decisions, and reports of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
The study finds that the 2016 amendment brought honour killing within the scope of Fasad-fil-Arz and prescribed life imprisonment under Section 311, thereby significantly limiting the previous effect of family pardon. However, the effectiveness of the law depends on the prosecution’s ability to prove the motive behind the killing, the police correctly classifying the incident instead of treating it as suicide or an ordinary murder, the availability of witness protection, and the courts effectively enforcing the rights of the State and society despite any private compromise.
