ISLAMABAD, Oct 3: The International Muslim Women Union (IMWU) has stressed upon the Muslim women organizations around the world to enhance their interaction and to work hard to remove the bad impression attached to Islam.

The visiting women delegates attending the international conference include some prominent intellectuals from Iran, Sudan, Indonesia and Pakistan. They were speaking at a lunch hosted in their honour by National Assembly speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain at parliament house on Friday.

The speaker welcomed the distinguished guests and highlighted the steps that the government had taken for the progress of women folk in Pakistan. In particular, he mentioned giving 33 per cent representation to women in local governments and increasing the number of seats for them in assemblies and Senate.

IMWU general-secretary Ihsan Abdullah, deputy general secretary Kalthum Abu El Gassim, wife of Iranian Majlis speaker Fatima Karaubi and Senator Dr Firdaus spoke on the occasion.

The women delegates from more than 24 countries, including Sudan, Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, Germany, China, Morocco, Mauritius, Nepal, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Kenya, Bosnia, Jordan, Thailand and Pakistan, are attending the conference, main session of which will start at Peshawar from Saturday.

They delegates said: “We must show to the world that Islam as a faith had nothing to do with terrorism and also dispel the misgivings attributed to it.”

They asked the religious leaders of all the countries to sit together and start inter-religion dialogue to bring harmony and peace among them.