18 December 2004	Saturday	05 Ziqa'ad 1425

NOWSHERA, Dec 17: Students of a religious school blocked on Friday the Grand Trunk Road for more than three hours to protest against the exclusion of the religion column from the new machine readable passports.

The students of Madrassah Haqqania, led by MNA Maulana Hamidul Haq, blocked the road after the Friday congregation. The protesters dispersed when Minister of State for Water and Power Amir Muqam assured them of bring their concern to the notice of the government.

Our Peshawar Bureau Adds: Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao criticized the religious parties for making an issue out of the omission of the religion column from the passport.

Talking to Dawn after addressing a party convention in Shabkadar near Charsadda, the minister said that all Pakistani citizens were required to fill a form that contained the religion column.

Therefore it made no sense that the passports should also contain the same column. Mr Sherpao said that he had convened a meeting of Majlis-i-Khatm-i-Nabuwwat on Dec 22 to allay their apprehensions about the exclusion of religion column from the passports.