ISLAMABAD, Jan 7: The ministerial sub-committee on religion column in machine-readable passports met here on Friday and discussed the issue of religion column in new passports but failed to reach a consensus in this regard.

The sub-committee, which met here with Defence Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal in the chair, decided to hold another meeting soon to come up with consensus recommendations.

The committee has been assigned the task of preparing a report on the question of religion column in new passports and present it to the next cabinet meeting. An official statement said that the five-member committee met under the chairmanship of senior minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal and deliberated upon the issue. It discussed various modalities in this regard.

The committee was formed by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz while presiding over a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Religious parties have expressed resentment over the deletion of religion column in new passports and threatened to launch a protest movement if the decision was not withdrawn.

The ministry of religious affairs has recommended inclusion of the religion column to nullify the propaganda campaign of religious parties. The government has also been recommended to first frame a policy on the issue and then educate public about various aspects of the issue.

The meeting was attended, among others, by Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Amanullah Khan Jadoon, Minister for Narcotics Division Ghaus Bakhsh Mehr, Minister for States and Frontier Regions Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind and Education Minister Lt-Gen (retd) Javed Ashraf Qazi.