Court blocks morality bill

PAKISTAN’S Supreme Court has blocked a Taliban-style bill passed by the Islamist-led government in a conservative province bordering Afghanistan.

Legislators in North West Frontier Province on November 13 voted to establish a moral policing system involving a cleric who would oversee adherence to Muslim values in public life.

The Supreme Court backed a petition filed by moderate President Pervez Musharraf “seeking an opinion as to the legality of the bill,” a court official said yesterday.

The judges also summoned the North West Frontier Province government to defend the bill in the third week of January, he said.

The bill was a watered-down version of another one that was ruled unconstitutional in 2005 by the Supreme Court, again following a challenge by Musharraf’s government.

Under the previous bill the anti-vice ombudsman was to enjoy sweeping powers to reform society in accordance with Islam and enforce the observance of such values in public places.