May 17, 2008	Saturday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 11, 1429

LAHORE, May 16: The Women’s Action Forum (WAF) has reiterated its support to the lawyers’ movement and called for urgent action to resolve judicial crisis and other issues.

Expressing concern over the turn of the political situation in the country, a WAF spokesperson said in a statement that the forum believed that the nation could not move forward until Gen Pervez Musharraf (retired) was removed and the parliament made supreme.

The Feb 18 elections had testified that an overwhelming majority of the masses wanted a just, progressive and peaceful state. The hopes raised by a resounding vote against Musharraf and religious extremists were, however, turning into despondency because the supremacy of the parliament was being undermined by critical decisions being taken by non-elected politicians. Serious livelihood crisis and proposed adoption of Sharia law to appease the militants in parts of NWFP also provided a cause for concern. The WAF acknowledged that religious militancy was an immediate threat to the NWFP and Pakistan but it did not accept appeasement as a resolution and creation of a state within a state as the way forward.

The WAF spokesperson said the government should not only take urgent action on the judiciary’s issue but also address livelihood issues of shortage of food, electricity, gas and fuel and their spiralling prices. In this contest, it condemned the recently signed agreement with Monsanto and other multinationals for introduction of genetically modified seeds despite evidence from a host of developing countries including India that these threatened the livelihood of the farmers, led to degeneration of land and creation of food insecurity. It was also shameful that while the people were starving and committing suicides the extravagant lifestyle of peoples’ representatives in their personal and official capacities continued to make a mockery of the deprivation of the ordinary citizens.