In Zia-ul-Haq's days, it was common for criminals to be sentenced to many lashes, even though it was repugnant. I remember a Memon being sentenced to many lashes (he was a diamond and narcotics smuggler). A relative told me a man is rendered impotent after receiving so many lashes. Another Memon told me that the convict paid a huge amount to be lashed lightly. I saw him many times after he was released, and he seemed in normal health.
After a long time, a man has been sentenced by a woman judge in Karachi to eighty lashes for falsely accusing his wife of committing adultery. This is welcome news, although I doubt if the sentence will be carried out. The man had refused to provide for his wife and baby daughter, claiming that the child was not his, as his wife had bad character and was having extra-marital relations. His wife had got him prosecuted, and he was given the sentence. I think it would have been better if he'd been sentenced to at least five years in jail.
In another piece of news, a woman was shot dead for marrying against the wishes of her family. This is very common in the country. Even in the twenty first century, Pakistani women are regarded as the properties of their fathers and brothers, who simply can't tolerate their sisters refusing to marry their cousins.
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