PESHAWAR, Feb 23: The NWFP minister for law and parliamentary affairs is reported to have conveyed to his party that he will not table a third version of the Hasba bill, after the Supreme Court of Pakistan raised objections to some of the clauses in its second version.

A private TV channel reported that Zafar Azam resigned from the cabinet after the superior court’s verdict on the bill. However, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam provincial information secretary Abdul Jalil Jan told Dawn that the report about Zafar Azam having tendered his resignation was not correct.

Two days ago, Mr Azam told his party (JUI) chief, Senator Gul Naseeb Khan, that he would not present a third version of the bill in the house. But, he did not offer any reason for this. And the TV channel quoted Gul Naseeb Khan as saying that the minister had resigned.

Talking to Dawn on the phone from his native village in the Karak district, Mr Azam refused to comment on the report. He said: “Gul Naseeb is our party chief. He may comment on it. I will not make any comment”.

It may be mentioned that acting on a presidential reference, the Supreme Court had declared the original Hasba Bill unconstitutional and, on a second reference, raised objections to some clauses of the watered-down version of the bill.