KARACHI, July 16: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement on Saturday dismissed the NWFP government’s Hasba bill as another political stunt of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), and claimed it was not Islamic, was violative of the fundamental human rights and was in conflict with the 1973 Constitution. This was stated by Deputy Convenor of the MQM Dr Farooq Sattar at a news conference held at Nine Zero. He urged the people of the NWFP to rise against the hasty decision imposed on them by the government of the mullahs, who were determined to impose their own will on them.

Dr Sattar, who is also parliamentary leader of the MQM in the National Assembly, was accompanied by Anwar Alam, Nasreen Jaleel and Kunwar Naveed.

Expressing concern over the controversial bill, he said the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had made it clear that in Pakistan, everyone would be free to pursue his or hers religious and cultural belief and practices.

Slamming the MMA for its alleged double standards, Dr Sattar claimed that the Hasba Bill was a ploy to mislead the people in the upcoming local government elections, at least in the NWFP and Balochistan.

It was an attempt to Talibanise the country, which did not bode well for the strength, and stability of the nation, said Dr Sattar, who claimed that it had exposed the mullahs as the true benefactors of the Taliban, although they had claimed to the contrary.

He said the bill was an infringement on personal freedom guaranteed in the 1973 Constitution and termed it as intrusion in the private lives of citizens, adding the officials, according to the bill, were now empowered to snoop around private individuals to push people back into the dark ages.

He said all this was being done by exploiting the name of Islam, as had been done during the last general election, when the situation in Afghanistan under the Taliban and anti-US feelings were harped on to get votes.

Dr Sattar criticised the religious parties for their alleged double standards and support of the US policies during the Afghan Jihad against the Soviet occupation for monetary gains. But, the policy was reversed, he said, when such aid was stopped.

He also pointed out that the mullahs were opposing President Musharraf continuing as the army chief in addition to holding the post of president, but they had no objection to Gen Zia retaining his military position together with the presidency.

Dr Sattar said that on one had, the MMA was demanding restoration of the 1973 Constitution, but on the other, it had given a parallel constitution and parallel system of law and justice in the country through the said bill.

He said matters that had been made liable for prosecution under Section 23 of Hasba Bill were already covered by the existing laws.

The bill, he claimed exposed the dictatorial mindset of the MMA and feared that if given a free hand, it would not only undermine the unity of the Ummah but would also undermine foundations of the nation state.

He said the bill was aimed at imposing the thinking of a group of narrow-minded mullahs, who wanted to take the country back to the 16th century.

He pointed out that the bill gave absolute powers to the state-appointed mohtasib, who would oversee the affairs of the so-called moral brigade that would have its chain of command from the provincial level down to district and tehsil levels to enforce the vision of politically-appointed mohtasib.

The draconian Hasba force, which can interfere with the media, provincial assembly and private lives of individuals but not the armed forces, has no provision for appeal, Dr Sattar added.

The MQM legislator pointed out that the bill deprived women the right to vote and other freedoms they enjoyed in Islam and under the 1973 Constitution, although authors of the Hasba bill claimed it protected women, minorities and disadvantaged groups and was aimed at eliminating honour killings.

They refused to protect the minorities by amending the blasphemy law and forced the youth to join madressahs to become cannon fodder in their fight for political power.

Asked whether the NWFP government should be dissolved, Dr Sattar said there were many ways of addressing the issue by acting in a democratic spirit.

He called upon liberal and moderate forces to ponder over the dangerous consequences of the bill, both in the domestic and international context.

He told a questioner that since such powers of legislation were not yet devolved to the provinces from the concurrent list; therefore, the bill was unconstitutional.