ISLAMABAD: Maulana Mohammad Khan Sheerani, chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), said on Monday that the laws regarding second marriage of a man in the presence of first wife were against religious principles.

“Sharia allows men to have more than one wife and we demanded that the government should amend the law,” he told reporters after a CII meeting.

The marriage laws were discussed in reply to letters sent by citizens seeking advice.

The laws require a man to have written approval from his existing wife or wives for another marriage.

“The government should amend the law to make the issue of more than one marriage easy and in accordance with Sharia.

“We urge the government to formulate Sharia-compliant laws related to nikah, divorce, adulthood and ‘will’,” Maulana Sheerani said.

It was decided that the CII would write a letter to the Supreme Court to seek information about pending cases related to religious issues. Maulana Sheerani, who is a JUI-F MNA, said the issues included implementation of interest-free economy.

The council is scheduled to discuss the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance on Tuesday.