Legitimacy of Imprisonment as a Punishment in Sharīa

Throughout known human history, incarceration has been a prevailing practice. Regardless of the nature of the crime, imprisonment is now a widespread phenomenon globally. In Pakistan, as in many other states, detention is employed for a wide range of offenses, including instances where Islamic capital punishments are substituted with imprisonment. The adverse impacts of imprisonment are not limited to the individual offender; rather, they extend to the well-being of the offender's family and the broader society. Furthermore, the efficacy of imprisonment is questioned concerning its purported benefits in terms of reformation, retribution, and deterrence, with an examination revealing potential limitations in achieving these objectives. Considering the aforementioned issues, it is important to explore whether it is according to Islamic law or not? After analyzing all causes and aspects of detention given in the Prophetic time and Rashidun caliphate, it is concluded that in those times, imprisonment was just practiced till the decision taken for the criminal and then, one might set free or granted any hadd or ta‘zīr punishment. Subsequently, the individual could either be released or subjected to specific hadd or ta‘zīr punishments. In Shari'ah, permissible punishments include confining the offender to their residence or banishing them from the locality, with the provision for the latter to be accompanied by their family. Crucially, the absence of a concept of prolonged imprisonment within Sharīa’s code of crimes and penalties underscores the contention that imprisonment is perceived not merely as a punitive measure but as a severe crime against humanity.  This raises questions about the effectiveness of Pakistan's criminal justice system, suggesting that a more tailored and nuanced approach, considering individual circumstances, may be more operative. Keywords: Juristic Approach to Imprisonment, Imprisonment in Islam, detention in Islamic law, incarceration.

Characterization of Some Genes Related to the Cotton Gossypium Hirsutum L. Fiber Quality

EXPANSINs are the intrinsic proteins in a plant cell and are involved in disentangling the cellulosic microfibrils of the cell wall. The mechanism of EXPANSIN action is generally concerned with cellular expansion. This family of proteins has also been documented to have tissue specific members. Multiple variants of this protein have been identified in specific tissues, which are temporally regulated and functionally specific. The fiber specific EXPANSINs play a key role in the development of cotton fibers. Various isoforms of EXPANSINs were isolated by screening the cDNA libraries constructed at different developmental stages of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) and Calotropis procera fibers. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the screened clones helped to identify two major variants in cotton (GhEXPA8 and GhEXPA15) and four EXPANSIN isoforms in fast elongating C. procera fibers. The C. procera CpEXPA3 was selected for further analysis on the basis of its close relatedness with cotton fiber EXPANSINs. The comparative analysis of these EXPANSINs with existing database of the gene family revealed that they belong to the third clade of EXPANSIN A family having two characteristic domains. Eight conserved cysteine residues were found in the N-terminal of the deduced amino acid sequence of GhEXPA8, GhEXPA15 and CpEXPA3, while one was in the signal peptide region. Five tryptophan residues were conserved in C-terminal region of these EXPANSINs. The Amino Acid sequences of GhEXPA8 and GhEXPA15 have 98 % identity, while they have 69.8 % and 69.6 % identity with CpEXPA3 respectively. The presence of the signal anchor sites, the hydrophobic regions and the transmembrane regions at the N-terminus suggested that these proteins are targeted to the cellulosic microfibrils through the secretory pathway. The expression of these variants in different tissues was quantified by real time PCR. The transcripts of GhEXPA8 and GhEXPA15 were observed only in fibers, while CpEXPA3 was found to be transcribed nonspecifically in all tissues of the respective plant. The different transcription patterns of GhEXPA8 and GhEXPA15 at various stages of fiber development indicated that they are functionally different genes. The real time PCR analysis indicated the presence of EXPANSIN variants in developing cotton fibers from 0-15 DPA. The RT-PCR demonstrated that transcripts of LTP3 gene could be detected in developing fibers from 0-20 DPA. A plant expression vector was constructed by fusing LTP3 promoter with a reporter gene (GUS with intron) for in 20Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Masooma Thesis vitro expression assay of the promoter strength and specificity in comparison with 2X35S. Transient expression studies on cultured cotton ovules, sepals, petals and stem revealed that the LTP3 promoter activity was confined only to the trichomes. The GUS gene in the expression cassettes was replaced with GhEXPA8, GhEXPA15 and CpEXPA3 generating six EXPANSIN genes constructs under the two promoters (2X35S and LTP3) with an aim to prolong the EXPANSIN gene expression in developing fibers. The construction of the expression cassettes was verified by DNA sequencing and the constructs were handed over to cotton transformation group at NIBGE for their utilization in fiber modification program.