The stoning-to-death verdict, delivered against a young...

The stoning-to-death verdict, delivered against a young woman, Zafran Bibi, in Kohat by a civil court that found her guilty of adultery, could ironically lead to changes being brought about in some Islamic laws in Pakistan.
Following an appeal by her lawyers filed before the Federal Shariat Court (FSC), the country's top Islamic court, and the widespread expression of outrage by human rights activists and lawyers, the FSC on May 7 suspended the stoning verdict and stated it will decide in the matter within a month. Zafran Bibi has in the meanwhile been removed from the death cell, where she was being held at Kohat along with a seven-month-old infant daughter, and is being housed in a regular cell. She has also been met by activists.
The fact that Zafran Bibi's husband, himself in prison, has recently stated that the charges of adultery were falsely brought against her by his father, and that the child she gave birth to was in fact legitimate, and conceived during 'secret intimate moments' in jail where she visited her husband, suggests that the FSC will drop the death sentence awarded to her. Lawyers believe, after the statement by her husband, that she should "immediately be released since the charges against her are false."
The widespread international publicity given to the case, and protests against the verdict, meant that the case once more drew attention to existing laws in the country and their possible misuse. Zafran Bibi is said to have been "disliked" by her in-laws for refusing to enter into an illicit relationship with her brother-in-law.
The fact that General Pervez Musharraf, before the suspension of the death sentence, had commented that "the stoning-to-death verdict would not be carried out," has also created a new controversy. Angry clergymen in Kohat and Peshawar stated after Musharraf's declaration that "this amounted to a direct intervention in the working of the courts and their independence."
However, lawyers and activists involved in the issue say that the remarks by Musharraf suggest that he is "aware how bad laws that exist on paper can be misused."
"There is now a great deal of concern at the highest levels about these laws, their misuse and the way in which they affect the image of the country," stated an Islamabad-based source. In view of this, and as a consequence of pressure coming in from international circles, it is believed the Musharraf administration may be "getting set to order a major overhaul of such laws and possibly even their scrapping," stated the same source.
Those arguing in favour of this hold that the Constitution itself guarantees the supremacy of Islam, without a need for separate laws. "I believe that this Zafran Bibi issue, tragic as it is, could lead to very positive results as far as matters of law are concerned," said a prominent female lawyer based in Islamabad.
Many women activists hope this will mean an end to the Hudood Ordinance that they have so consistently campaigned against. Most women held in prison in the country are indeed detained under Hudood laws. One of the provisions of the ordinance states that a woman, bringing charges of rape but who fails to prove it in court, can be accused of adultery on her own "confession."