Two Pakistani provinces have announced that they will now be using the Sharia as the supreme law.

Sharia is a very strickt religious law, which leaves very little to interpretation, this law allows for the dismemberment of a hand for anyone convicted of being a thief, even if that someone was a starving man caught stealing a loaf of bread.

Stoning and dismemberment, as well as the death penalty, are some of the more sinister punishments dictated by the Sharia.

The Sharia is frequently used by dictatorial Islamic governments to control their subjects.

Drinking, sex outside of marriage etc. are punished harshly, a german citizen caught kissing a woman in Iran not long ago recieved corporal punishment as the Sharia defines kissing a woman not your wife as sex.

The fact that Sharia is becoming popular in Pakistan should raise some eyebrows, as Pakistan has generally been seen as a semi-democratic country, albeit somewhat corrupt. The return of Sharia is a step away from democracy and towards teocracy ( priests rule with absolute power ).

Also to remember are the recent nuclear bomb tests that Pakistan conducted, Pakistan now have nuclear capabilities, and I personally am not too happy about nukes in the hands of  priests with absolute power.

The two provinces are also close to the Kashmir area, where Pakistani and Indian forces have clashed in the past, and continues to be an area of great dispute.

All in all, this move is not a good sign for the stability of the region.

Alexander Wilhelmsen 17. January 1999