To recommend laws conforming to the Quran and the Sunnah to the Parliament and Provincial Assemblies.
To advise the Parliament, Government of Pakistan, President of Pakistan, or Governor on any question referred to the council as to whether a proposed law is or is not repugnant to the injunctions of Islam.
To make recommendations to bring current laws into conformity with Islamic injunctions.
To compile guidance for the Parliament and Provincial Assemblies.
However, the Government can make a law before advice is furnished by the council. The council is also responsible for submitting an annual interim report, which is discussed in the Parliament and Provincial Assemblies within six months of its receipt.[3] Recently, the council was strongly criticized in many traditionalist quarters for its recommendations on the procedure for khula. (See also Talaq (conflict)).
Views
In 2013, the council ruled that DNA testing could not be used as a primary proof in rape cases, but be used as a supplementary proof, they later said it can be used as the main evidence.[4][1]
The council also declared human cloning and sex reassignment surgery to be un-Islamic whereas test tube births were allowed, within certain conditions. It further states that practice of secret recordings as evidence for court cases should not be part of general policy, but it can be done in selected cases.[5]
Regarding the existing law that requires a "written approval" from the first wife if a man wants a second marriage, the council is of the view that these laws are against Islamic principles and therefore should be abolished. Maulana Sheerani chairman of the council said, "The government should amend the law to make the issue of more than one marriage easy and in accordance with Sharia. We urge the government to formulate Sharia-compliant laws related to nikah, divorce, adulthood and will."[6] In spite of this recommendation from CII, in November 2017, a Lahore lower court ruled against a man who married a second woman without obtaining permission from his first wife. He was sentenced to a six-month jail term and fined Rs 2,00,000.[7]
In a review of marriage laws in March 2014, CII declared them un-Islamic. According to the council, there are two stages of a marriage, nikah and rukhsati. While nikah can be done at any age, rukhsati can only take place once she reaches the age of puberty and is the responsibility of her guardian.[8]
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