Castration as punishment for rapists ‘imported from the West’:JI senator

Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan has said the castration as punishment for rapists is not in Shariah, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Wednesday.

“This is imported from the West,” he said stressing that the scholars of all schools of thought are unanimous that the punishment for impotence is not in the Shariah.

The JI senator took swipe at the government for taking such steps and raised the demand for hanging rapists publically. “I suggested that punishment be given according to Islam,” the JI lawmaker maintained.

Last month, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) declared the castration of rape convicts is not in accordance with Islamic laws. The council also expressed concerns about the incidents of sexual harassment in seminaries, universities, and institutes of Islamic education. 

Last year in November, Prime Minister Imran Khan approved, in principle, a law for the chemical castration of rapists. The decision was made during a federal cabinet meeting wherein the law ministry presented a draft of the anti-rape ordinance. The draft included increasing women’s role in policing, fast-tracking rape cases and witness protection.