ISLAMABAD, Sept 9: Talks between the government and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal on the women rights’ bill could not be held on Saturday as the government’s ulema team did not turn up.

The government’s ulema team has sought time to review the bill and express opinion on it, and urged the government not to pass the bill in haste from the National Assembly on Monday.

The government on Saturday contacted MMA leaders, including Hafiz Hussain Ahmad and Asad Ullah Bhutto, for talks on the rights bill. Mr Ahmad, Mr Bhutto and other ulema kept waiting for the government team but it did not turn up.

When contacted, Mr Ahmad said the MMA was first told the talks would be held at 9am but the time was then changed to 11am, 5pm and then 6pm. And even then, no member of the government team came for talks, he added.

He said the government’s team had sought time which showed that they too had reservations over the bill.

He said legislators from Fata had also shown concerns over the amendments bill.

Mr Ahmad said if the government got the bill passed, the MMA would have no option but to quit assemblies.

When contacted, a member of the government team and chairman of the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee, Mufti Muneebur Rehman said: “We have asked the government to give us time to deliberate over the bill because we cannot give any opinion without studying the draft bill. If the government wants to get it passed then there is no need of consultation, nor can we give any opinion in such haste.”

He said the draft bill was prepared in two years and amendments to it could not be proposed in just one or two days. He said the government should not create any crisis and give them appropriate time to bring a consensus bill. He said they would review the bill from Sunday clause-wise and then submit a report to the government.

Another government team member Qari Hanif Jalandhri said the author of the Hudood Ordinance, Mufti Taqi Usmani, had arrived in Pakistan and he would be in Islamabad on Sunday. The other colleagues would also review the bill, he said.—Online