ISLAMABAD, Sept 11: The government on Monday deferred a women’s rights bill in the National Assembly for the second time in five days in a climbdown before pressure from religious parties and promised to table an amended draft on Wednesday.

The government had earlier vowed to get the Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill passed by the lower house on Monday after a debate on it was first put off on Thursday to allow time to a non-parliamentary committee of religious scholars to discuss objections raised by the MMA.

The Senate was also summoned to meet on Tuesday in an apparent move for an early passage of the bill by both houses of parliament.

The bill was placed as the first item on Monday’s legislative agenda of the house for debate and possible passage, but the retreat came after the leadership of the ruling PML signed an agreement with religious scholars on certain points proposed for incorporation in the draft.

No explanation for the change was given.

But Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani told a news conference that an amended bill would be tabled before the house on Wednesday.

It was not immediately clear whether the amended draft of the bill, which seeks protection of women from the widely complained misuse of two controversial Islamic Hudood laws concerning Zina (adultery and rape) and Qazf (false accusation of Zina) enforced in 1979 by then military ruler Gen Ziaul Haq, would be sent again to the special select committee or a regular standing committee for further consideration or be taken up for debate in the house right away on Wednesday.

“It will be up to the Speaker, or the house to decide,” Mr Durrani said.

The MMA had boycotted the house select committee which recommended passage of the bill with proposed amendments, but it was joined by the other main opposition party — People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) — some of whose amendments were accepted.

It was not clear if the MMA would now vote for the amended draft. One MMA member, Farid Piracha, said it would, but Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, head of an MMA negotiating team on the issue, said Mr Piracha’s was his personal view and pointed out that none of the alliance members had signed the agreement, which had signatures of nine religious scholars and PML president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Punjab province chief minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi and PML chief whip in the National Assembly Sardar Nasrullah Dreshak.

There was no immediate comment from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, a key government ally which had earlier said it would reconsider its support for the bill if changes were brought from ‘extra-parliamentary forums’.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afgan Niazi left the house before its adjournment.