ISLAMABAD, Nov 21: Four independent senators from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) will oppose the Protection of Women’s Bill when it comes up for voting in the upper house on Wednesday.

Hamidullah Jan Afridi, leader of the group, told reporters on Tuesday that they had earlier decided to abstain but they had changed their mind and would now oppose the bill because they considered it `un-Islamic’.

Four of the eight Fata senators are already on the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal’s side on the issue.

The other four, headed by Mr Afridi, have also distanced themselves from the government for quite some time and taken separate seats in the house. They support or oppose any bill or issue independent of any official influence.

Mr Afridi said his group believed that the PWR Bill was un-Islamic because it had been rejected by the panel of ulema “hence we will oppose it when it comes up for vote”.