ISLAMABAD, Aug 22: The National Assembly witnessed four protest walkouts, including one by a party in the ruling coalition, on Tuesday amid a heated exchange of words between the treasury and opposition benches on the issue of tearing up of the copies of ‘The Protection of Women Bill 2006’ by MMA legislators during the assembly proceedings on Monday.

At the outset of proceedings on a private members’ day, legislators from Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a government ally, asked the speaker to take up their privilege motion, seeking a debate on and action against MMA legislators for “committing blasphemy by tearing up copies of the bill that also contained a Hadith and the words ‘Allah’ and ‘Quran’ in it.”

MQM’s Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi and Minister of State for Environment Malik Amin Aslam submitted separate privilege motions against the MMA members for putting the words of ‘Quran’ and ‘Hadith’ under their feet during the Monday’s proceedings.

Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan also asked the speaker to take up the motion “as it is a very serious matter”. He said the members not only desecrated the Holy Quran but also disregarded their oath by tearing off the official documents, thereby violating the rules of the assembly. “This act, therefore, carries contempt in three ways,” he added.

MMA’s Deputy parliamentary leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmed asked the speaker not to take up the privilege motion on the private members’ day.

The speaker, however, allowed Mr Rizvi and Mr Aslam to move their motions.

Mr Rizvi said that opposition members, belonging to the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), an MMA ally, had disgracefully torn up copies of the bill in which the word ‘Quran’ appeared 11 times. He said there was a Hadith on page 19 which also carried the word ‘Allah’.

“This undemocratic, un-Islamic and un-parliamentary attitude is a blasphemous act, and all these members are blasphemers,” he said.

However, the speaker did not allow discussion on the issue and said it would be resolved in his chamber.

Subsequently, all MQM members, including three federal ministers, staged a walkout from the house. All of them were wearing black arm-bands as mark of protest.

This caused PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to go out in the lobby and bring the MQM members back.

Before leaving, Chaudhry Shujaat said if he failed to bring the MQM members back, he would also stage a walkout. However, he succeeded.

Later, the combined opposition staged a token walkout when the house rejected an amendment bill, moved by Sahibzada Fazal Karim of the PML-N and 10 others, through a voice vote.

The PML-N and the MMA members had sought addition of Article 2-B to the constitution, demanding that the Quran and Sunnah be made the constitution of Pakistan.

Opposition members staged another walkout when the treasury benches rejected a bill, moved by MMA’s Inayat Begum and 10 others, seeking amendment to Section 7 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961.

Through the amendment, the MMA members wanted to make more effective the laws related to registration of divorce.

The fourth walkout featured members of PPP-Parliamentarians, protesting against the Sindh government decision to ban teachers’ unions in educational institutions of the province.

The issue was first raised by PPP MNA from Kasur Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed and then by Sher Mohammad Baloch.