Amid the recent spike in honour killings, the top Islamic advisory body has once again declared killings in the name of honour un-Islamic and against Pakistani laws.In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), citing its previous ruling from 16 years ago, said Islam does not allow any person to take the law into his hands and start punishing people.The CII stated that two tragic events within a span of one month invite serious thinking not only on the part of the law enforcing agencies but the society as well.Zeenat Rafiq, an 18-year-old girl from Lahore, was burnt alive last week by her mother and brothers for marrying a man of her own choice. Her mother claimed she had killed the girl for “bringing shame on her family”. Another teenage girl was burnt to death for helping her friend (girl) elope last month after a tribal court ruled she had dishonoured the entire village.Condemning the incidents, the CII said there was no room for anyone to kill an individual after being provoked by immorality as punishments for the sins already existed in Pakistan’s laws and the Sharia as well. The council, however, believed that the accused should be presented in the court, which will decide the case in the light of evidence or confession.The CII added that the Pakistani laws were in conformity with Sharia and no further legislation or amendment was required in the current law for honour killings. “The executive needs to implement laws instead of amending them or making new ones,” the statement read.The CII recalled its decisions from its 138th meeting held on October 24 to 26 in 1999 on similar issues when the national and international media reacted angrily to the murder of Samia Imran in Lahore. (TRANSLATION BY ARSHAD SHAHEEN)Published in The Express Tribune, June 15, 2016.