Islamabad: The Senate on Monday passed a bill aimed at increasing penalties for derogatory remarks about revered figures, including the family, wives and companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the four caliphs.
The bill, titled “The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2023,” had already been passed by the National Assembly in January. The bill was introduced by PML-N Senator Hafiz Abdul Karim.
The bill aims to amend Section 298-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), which states: “Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any insinuation, innuendo or suggestion, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of any woman (Ummul Mumineen) or member of the family (Ahl-i-Bait) of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), or disparages any of the righteous caliphs (Khulafa-i-Rashideen) or companions (Sahaaba) of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), shall be punished with imprisonment of either kind for a term not exceeding t
