ISLAMABAD, Sept 7: A group of lawmakers of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League has asked the party to desist from an “indecent haste” in passing the protection of women’s rights bill.
The over a dozen parliamentarians, including Makhdoom Ahmad Alam Anwar, Ahmad Raza Maneka, Ali Asghar Shah, Rai Mansab Ali Khan, Rai Azizullah Khan, Rao Ajmal Khan, Sher Akbar Khan, Sardar Tufail, Murtaza metal, Amanullah Khan, and Tahir Shah, communicated their reservations over the bill to the party in writing on Thursday.
The ruling party MPs had been briefed on the bill by the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal on Wednesday.
Party sources said there were many other legislators too who had reservations over the rights bill, but were not expressing it publicly.
Talking to Dawn, Rai Azizullah said the group was of the opinion that the law of Tazeer should continue to apply in case a woman was not convicted for adultery due to lack of four witnesses, otherwise the new law would cause dents in the society.
Similarly, he observed, abolishing the Nikah act would open Pandora’s Box because people would be free to establish relations with anyone and then escape the law by claiming to be tied in wedlock.
He said that exoneration in Zina offence of those who were under 16 years of age would create disharmony in the society.
He said a few legislators from the group, including Rai Mansab Ali Khan, had met PML president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on Thursday to inform him of their reservations so that the party did not pass the bill in haste.
Alam Anwar told journalists at the Parliament House cafeteria that he was reading the draft bill and would give his input on the issue after he completed it.
He, however, hoped that the prime minister would take measures to meet the demand of several MPs who had written to him a joint letter asking for taking the parliamentary party into confidence on all national issues.
He said “we believe the law should be for providing immediate justice to women, instead of complicating the process”.
SHUJAAT/FAZAL MEETING: The government on Thursday decided not to take up the debate on the Protection of Women’s Rights bill in the National Assembly on Friday after it failed to achieve a breakthrough in talks with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal on the bill.
Chief of the ruling PML Chaudhry Shujaat, during talks with MMA’s Liaquat Baloch, had suggested a meeting between a team of government-nominated experts and the religious alliance’s ulema on Friday and Saturday.
The debate on the bill, which was earlier scheduled to start on Thursday, has been postponed as part of mutual understanding between the government and the MMA till Monday afternoon.
The two parties will try to bridge their differences and then introduce amendments to the bill on which they have already arrived at a consensus during its second and third readings.
Earlier, the select committee discussed the bill till night and tried to strike a consensus on various issues and the government’s team sought more time to study the proposed amendments.
The team summoned to hold discussion with MMA team on Wednesday had not turned up and subsequently Chaudhry Shujaat again had to hold a meeting with Maulana Fazlur Rahman.
