Pak urges MMA to support Women Protection Bill

Islamabad, Sep 7: Pakistan government has made another attempt to woo Islamic opposition alliance Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) to get its support on the ''controversial'' Women Protection Bill-2006 seeking amendment of Hudood laws.

Former military dictator Ziaul Haq had promuglated the Hudood laws in 1979, which are considered widely oppressive against women.

One of the controversial provisions of the law requires rape victims to produce four witnesses as evidence in their ordeal or face adultery charges.

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League government agreed to form an eight-member committee to review the amended draft of the bill, which was tabled in the National Assembly after its approval by the Select Committee, The Dawn newspaper said.

The government made the fresh contact with MMA leaders after the decision of the MMA's supreme council on Tuesday to resign from the National Assembly seats at the time of the passage of the women protection bill, which they had declared against the teaching of Islam, Holy Quran and Sunnah.

Talking to reporters after the meeting between the government and MMA MPs, leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the MMA had already rejected the bill introduced by the government in the name of women's rights protection.

He said the MMA was ready to cooperate with the government in removing controversial clauses that were not in accordance with the Holy Quran and Sunnah.

The MMA leader said PML president Chaudhry Shujaat was convinced that there was no need to show an 'indecent haste' to get the controversial bill passed from Parliament.

Later, the first meeting of the government-MMA committee was held here, but ended without making any headway.

MMA leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmed said the government-nominated religious scholars had sought more time for discussion and said that they would again meet on Monday.

Sources said the PML chief did not respond to the request of MMA leaders that the bill should not be put before the house for final debate before its approval by the committee.

Meanwhile, the People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP), which had extended its support to the government on the bill, was perturbed over the meeting between the government MPs and MMA leaders at a time when the Select Committee had approved the draft and the bill had been put on the agenda items for today's session.

Mr Ahmed criticised the PPP for supporting the bill introduced by the government. He said on one hand, the PPP had moved a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and on the other it was extending support to the bill tabled by the treasury benches.

UNI