Chapter 5. Islam and Fundamental Rights

Abstract

The Objectives Resolution has become an accepted interpretative tool of fundamental rights. The main use of Islamic law and the Objectives Resolution, was however, made in the context of Pakistan's manifestation of public interest litigation. Public interest litigation emerged in Pakistan only in the early 1990s. The furtherance of fundamental rights on the basis of Article 2-A was not confined to public interest litigation cases but permeated a wide range of issues. Especially worthy of note is the case of Government of N.-W.F.P. v. Muhammad Irshad, where the system of tribal areas, subject to separate laws and procedures from the rest of the country, was challenged. The Supreme Court's redefinition of the role of Islamic law in Pakistan's legal system was also unprecedented: Islamic law was regarded as the positive law of the land, capable of restricting all fundamental rights, and binding on both the courts and the legislator.Keywords: fundamental rights; Islamic law; objectives resolution; Pakistan's legal system; public interest litigation