KARACHI: MMA criticises, treasury hails women protection law
By Habib Khan Ghori
KARACHI, Nov 16: Speaker Sindh Assembly Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah could not succeed in restraining opposition members from criticising the Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill when several members from treasury benches got the floor to express their pleasure over the passage of the bill in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
The speaker ruled that commenting in the provincial assembly on merits or demerits of a bill adopted by National Assembly could not be allowed under the provisions of the Constitution.
Earlier, he had allowed three members from the treasury benches to felicitate President Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and members of the National Assembly on passage of the bill. However, when MMA’s parliamentary party leader Maulana Omar Sadiq, through a point of order, tried to criticise the bill and its passage in disregard of the recommendations of the ulema committee, the speaker had to intervene.
Maulana Sadiq told the house that MMA would continue to agitate inside and outside the assembly against all laws that stood in conflict with the holy Quran and Sunnah.
Responding to the speaker’s ruling about comments on an NA-passed bill, the opposition leader argued that if treasury benches could be allowed to comment on the disputed bill in the house, the opposition too should be allowed to comment on it.
Condemning contents and adopting of the bill, he said in fact, it offered nothing for the protection of women. Rather, he claimed, the law would only help transform Pakistan into a free-sex society.
Another MMA leader Nasrullah Shaji, speaking on a point of order, said the bill had been introduced at the behest and under the pressure of the United States.
Hameedullah Khan said that if the ruling parties were sincere in protecting women’s rights, they should have insisted that Quran and Sunnah provided maximum protection to woman.
Minister for Mines Irfanullah Khan Marwat said: “We are also Muslims, and we do believe that all laws should be in line with Quran and Sunnah. The National Assembly, and the present government will not even think of getting a law framed which may be repugnant to Shariah.”
In this context, he referred to the statement of President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, and said that PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had even offered to quit the assembly if any of the bill’s clauses proved contrary to Quran and Sunnah.
No PPP MPA was in the house as, according to an insider, the party’s legislators had proceeded to Shikarpur where polling was to be held on Thursday for the PS-11 Shikarpur III seat. The seat had fallen vacant due to the death of Agha Tariq Khan (PPP). It is being contested by his son Agha Taimour against his PML-Q rival, Maqbool Shaikh, a former provincial minister.
When the house was called to order at around 11.30am, there were 65 members sitting on the treasury benches and six (from MMA) on the opposition benches.
After recitation from the holy Quran and Na’at, MQM member Bilquees Mukhtar and Minister for Women Development Dr Saeeda Malik raised their points of order and hailed the passage of the Protection of Women bill.
Paying rich tributes to the National Assembly members, they congratulated President Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the entire ruling coalition for this ‘historic development’, and said this would go a long way in safeguarding women and their rights in the society.
Minority MPA Dr Bhagchand also welcomed passage of the bill and felicitated president, prime minister and Pakistani nation.
Some more members wanted to speak on the bill on their points of order but the chair did not allow more discussion and announced commencement of the questions hour.
The question hour was in progress with Afshan Imran, a member of the Panel of Chairmen, in the chair when the session was adjourned for the day.
The other business on the order of the day was an adjournment motion moved by Dr Mehreen Bhutto of PPP and nomination of members to the Standing Committee on Local Government vice late Abdullah Murad of PPP and vice Sakina Bano, who was nominated on two committees, and one for Standing Committee on Finance vice late Abdullah Murad.
The last item on the order of the day was a general discussion on identical adjournment motions submitted by Nisar Khuhro and Sassui Palejo of PPP regarding allotment of two islands to a Dubai-based firm for developing a modern town off Karachi coast.
The session was adjourned at 1pm till 9am on Friday apparently to compensate the treasury benches for doing tremendous legislation business during the Wednesday proceedings when they passed 13 bills into law.
