ISLAMABAD, September 06 2006: Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) members of the National Assembly demonstrated in front of Parliament House on Tuesday (Sept 05) to protest against the “un-Islamic” Women’s Protection Bill. The MNAs chanted slogans against President General Pervez Musharraf and the Pakistan Muslim League government and vowed to resist the passage of the bill in the National Assembly.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Farid Ahmed Paracha said that the government was going against Islamic injunctions by amending the Hudood laws. He said that the MMA would continue protests against the government on the issue. “We reject the bill tabled in the National Assembly by the government in the name of women’s protection,” said Mian Muhammad Aslam said. “It is not only against Islamic injunctions but also against the norms and traditions of our society.”

Samia Raheel Qazi complained that the government had named the bill after one she had submitted months ago. She said the fulfilled the agenda of non-governmental organizations promoting US interests in Pakistan. Shahida Akhtar Ali said that the Hudood laws affected only one percent of women in Pakistan, and the government was ignoring the problems of the rest. She said that the government would do better to focus on the provision of health and education facilities to poor women.

Online adds: The MMA parliamentary party met at Parliament House on Tuesday (Sept 05) with its deputy parliamentary leader Liaquat Baloch in the chair. The meeting decided that the MMA would continue to protest in and outside parliament against the Women’s Protection Bill.
Source: Daily Times
Date:6/9/2006