Shahbaz Ahmad Cheema and SHARIAsource South Asia Editor Zubair Abbasi have written a paper on the role of the 150-year-old Lahore High Court—which has jurisdiction over Pakistan’s most populous province of Punjab—in developing progressive Islamic family law in the country.
“Contribution of the Lahore High Court in the Development of Islamic Family Law in Pakistan”
Abstract:
…This [progressive] approach on the one hand is inspired and informed by the ethos and spirit of Islamic dictates and on the other, by the day-to-day realities of the socio-economic condition of women and children in the institution of marriage. The court has attempted to keep the rights of these marginalized segments in sight and protect them instead of toeing precedents in a straitjacketed/mechanical manner. The fluid milieu of difference of opinions among scholars in Islamic legal texts (fiqh) has been innovatively employed so as to put it in service of women and children. The same approach is also demonstrated through the progressive construction of statutes.
The paper is available here on SSRN.