Benazir Bhutto's daughter slams Pak's Ramdan law

Former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto's daughter yesterday sharply criticized the hypocrisy of her country allowing terrorists to roam free but jailing people for eating during Ramdan.

"This is not Islam," tweeted Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari, one of Bhutto's three children. Her brother Bilawal is chairman of the opposition Pakistan People's Party.

She termed "ridiculous" the Ehtram-e-Ramadan Ordinance by which those "eating openly" during Ramzan will be given a three-month jail sentence. The 1981 Zia-ul-Haq-era ordinance was earlier this week made even more stringent with hiked monetary penalties.

The Bhutto scion then pointed to the fact that no one is jailed or punished for "being a terrorist" or "attempting to kill school girls like Malala (Yusafzai)", but "drinking water during Ramazan" can get one thrown in jail.

Earlier this week, Pakistan's senate amended the ordinance to attach a fine of Rs 500 to the jail term for "smoking" and/or "eating openly" during Ramadan. The senate also increased the fine for restaurants or hotels that flout this rule to Rs 25,000 from Rs 500. The amendment said that TV channels or theatres houses that violate the law will be fined Rs 500,000 or more.

Bakhtawar spoke about the inhumanity of arresting children, the elderly and the ailing for not fasting.

When someone replied to Bakhtawar's tweet, saying that fasting was an "Islamic legislation", she reminded the person that fasting "is an important obligation" but asked "where the law is" that says people have to be arrested for not fasting.

"Not in Islam," she added.

During Ramadan, Muslims who observe the fast don't eat or drink anything from sunrise to sunset.