QSO 1984 § Article 17 — Competence and number of witnesses

Statutory text (English)

(1) The competence of a person to testify, and the
number of witnesses required in any case shall be determined in accordance with the injunctions of
Islam as laid down in the Holy Quran and Sunnah.

(2) Unless otherwise provided in any law relating to the enforcement of Hudood or any other
special law, —
(a) in matters pertaining to financial or future obligations, if reduced to writing, the instrument
shall be attested by two men, or one man and two women, so that one may remind the
other, if necessary, and evidence shall be led accordingly ; and
(b) in all other matters, the Court may accept, or act on, the testimony of one man or one
woman or such other evidence as the circumstances of the case may warrant.

Source and verification

Source citation: Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984 (P.O. No. X of 1984) Art. 17: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE QANUN-E-SHAHADAT ORDER 1984 (LAW OF EVIDENCE)' (P.O. No. X of 1984, last amended 2017-02-16 incl. Act No. IV of 2017), p. 14, ingested 2026-09-15. Automated transcription from official source (pypdf extraction, audited artifact repair); human admin re-check required before production.

Verification status: verified · Text status: auto_transcribed_verified_source

The record cites an official source, but its transcription is automated or only partly checked; a human re-check is pending.

Official Urdu text status: pending_official_urdu_text. Where official Urdu wording has not been sourced, Qanoon does not substitute an unverified translation for the statutory text.

Historical text notes

1 historical record is linked to this section. Historical wording may be incomplete or pending verification; it is not presented as current law.

• Date not confirmed: Consolidated current text as published in the official Pakistan Code PDF (p. 14) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment version…

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