ISLAMABAD, Sept 8: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement on Friday hinted that the party would not vote for the women’s protection bill if any amendment was made in it on the demands of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal.

Speaking at a press conference in the Parliament House cafeteria, MQM ministers and legislators expressed concern over the government’s move to again contact the MMA which seeks changes in Hudood laws.

Leaders of the ruling PML had contacted the MMA leadership to get its support on the bill and agreed to form an eight-member committee to review the amended draft tabled in the National Assembly after its approval by the Select Committee.

The government had also delayed the presentation of the bill before the National Assembly for final debate in the hope that it would succeed in getting MMA’s support. The government made the fresh contact with the religious alliance after the decision of MMA leaders to resign from parliament in protest at the time of adopting the bill, which they had declared un-Islamic and against the Holy Quran and Sunnah.

MQM MNA Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi said that some so-called religious scholars and Ulema were hatching conspiracies against the proposed bill and blackmailing the government on the issue.

He termed the attitude of MMA leaders as “undemocratic, unconstitutional and immoral”. He regretted that first the MMA boycotted the meetings of the National Assembly’s Select Committee on the bill and at present it had agreed to hold negotiations with the government.

“If amendments are made in the bill on MMA’s request, then it will be difficult for them to approve those changes,” Mr Rizvi said, adding the MQM wanted equal rights for women in the country and it would make no compromise on the issue. “We will not accept any backdoor amendments in the bill depriving women of their rights,” he announced.

Mr Rizvi said all members of the Select Committee were Muslims and they were aware of their religious and constitutional duties that no legislation could be done in parliament which was against the teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah.

He said the members of Select Committee approved the draft of the bill after a thorough discussion keeping in view its sensitivity.

Referring to the ongoing talks between the government and the MMA, he said, the meetings were extra-parliamentary as the bill had already been introduced in the assembly. Anyhow, he said, they were waiting for the outcome of the government-MMA talks before finalizing the party’s future line of action.

Federal Minister for Housing and Works Syed Safwanullah, Federal Minister for Communications Shamim Siddiqui, MNAs Dr Abdul Kadir Khanzada, Iqbal Mohammad Ali Khan, Israrul Ibad, Abid Ali Umang, Afsar Begum and Dev Das were also present at the press conference.