A Pakistani law that would fine and incarcerate people who eat, drink, or smoke in public during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has drawn the ire of the daughter of the late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Bakhtawar Bhutto, the daughter of the first and only female prime minister of Muslim-majority Pakistan, took to Twitter to condemn the legislation, writing, “This is not Islam.”
Pakistani lawmakers enacted the Ehtram-e-Ramazan Ordinance in 1981, but Pakistani Sen. Tanveer Khan this year introduced an amendment that increased the fines against hotel owners who violate the law, from 500 rupees (about $5) to 25,000 rupees (about $239).
The Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs unanimously approved the amendment last week, bringing the 1981 law back into the spotlight.
“During the [January 16 Pakistani senate] meeting, Tanveer requested the committee to take strict action against people who violate the law during Ramazan [Ramadan],” adds the news outlet.
Under the law, authorities will fine people who eat, drink, or smoke in public 500 rupees and/or send them to jail for up to three months.
Ramadan, which will begin at the end of May, refers to the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, during which Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking, and having sex from sunrise to sunset.
Bakhtawar Bhutto argues that the Pakistani law is inconsistent with Islam, noting that many people will die of dehydration, fearing punishment from the authorities, reports the Express Tribune.
“People are going to die from heat stroke and dehydration with this ridiculous law. Not everyone is able,” indicated the daughter of Bhutto, the first and only female prime minister of Muslim-majority Pakistan, notes the Tribune. “This is not Islam.”
The 1981 ordinance states:
(1) No person who, according to the tenets of Islam, is under an obligation to fast shall eat, drink or smoke in a public place during fasting hours in the month of Ramazan [Ramadan].
(2) Whoever contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) shall be punishable with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.
The law also prohibits hotels and other businesses from serving food in public places:
No proprietor, manager, servant, or other person in charge of a hotel, restaurant or canteen, or other public place, shall knowingly and willfully offers or serve or cause to be offered or served any eatable during fasting hours in the month of Ramazan to any person who, according to the tenets of Islam, is under an obligation to fast
(2) Whoever contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) shall be punishable with simple imprisonment for a ten which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.
Moreover, TV channels and movie theaters that violate the law will face a fine of 500,000 rupees (about $4,771) or more, according to the law.
Other predominantly Muslim countries known to impose Sharia law on their subjects, like Saudi Arabia, have implemented similar laws that punish people who do not practice Ramadan. Sharia law refers to strict Islamic guidelines that govern all aspects of a Muslim’s life.
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