The Pakistani government dropped a controversial clause allowing for chemical castration of convicted rapists from a proposed bill, after a council of clerics said such a punishment was against Islam, a lawmaker from the ruling party said on Friday.
Maleeka Bukhari from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party said the state-run clerical council, which advises the government on religious issues, had at the last minute advised that the clause be deleted. The clause was dropped before the draft bill was sent to parliament for voting, she added.
Earlier on Wednesday, the government had backed dozens of bills in a hurry, and some local media incorrectly reported that the castration clause was approved.
Bukhari said such punishment would also violate the constitution and added that the law minister, Farogh Naseem, had also suggested the clause be excluded.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government had pushed a flurry of dozens of draft bills to lawmakers for a vote Wednesday seeking to prevent opposition lawmakers from staging a prolonged and detailed debate on each of the bills.
The castration clause was quietly removed from the documents before the bill was put before lawmakers.
Chemical castration for sexual offenders is the use of drugs to lower the level of male hormones in men and quell their sex drive.
