PESHAWAR, Dec 3: The executive council of the NWFP chapter of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) on Sunday asked Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain and other members of the ruling party to resign immediately from the National Assembly over their “failure to ensure that no un-Islamic provisions were included in the Protection of Women Act”.

“Being a Muslim and a politician, it is incumbent upon Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain to resign from the assembly as per the promise he made during deliberations on the Protection of Women Bill there,” said the provincial Information Secretary of JUI (F), Abdul Jalil Jan. He was informing newsmen of the decisions made during the executive council meeting.

The bill was discussed at length during the rather long meeting, he said. Other issues taken up at the meeting included the Hasba Bill, the upcoming general elections and the proposed reorganisation of JUI (F).

The meeting, held at the party’s provincial secretariat, was chaired by provincial chief of JUI (F) Senator Gul Naseeb Khan. The meeting was also attended by MNA Maulana Attaur Rehman, MNA Maulana Shujaul Mulk, Qari Mohammad Abdullah and Maulana Rafiullah Qasmi.

Jalil Jan said the JUI (F) members attending the meeting likened the adoption for implementation of the Protection of Women Bill to challenging God. He was of the view that the move was aimed at prolonging the rule of PML (Q).

The JUI (F) would hold a seminar on the bill at the Peshawar Press Club on December 9, he said. Well-known religious scholars, including Maulana Hasan Jan, Mufti Ghulam Rehman and Senator Kamran Murtaza, would be speaking on the occasion.

It was resolved at the executive council meeting that all district chapters be asked to submit by December 7 the names of all would-be candidates for the upcoming national and provincial elections, he said.

Jalil Jan informed the newsmen that the JUI (F) members attending the meeting had also demanded of the NWFP Governor, Lt Gen Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai, to give his assent to the Hasba Bill as soon as possible.