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PESHAWAR, July 26: Federal Minister for Haj, Zakat and Religious Affairs Ijaz-ul-Haq has said that crackdown against banned organisations should not be mistaken for an action against madressahs.
“The government will not take action against any madressah and registration of madressahs will be completed by December 31, 2005”, Mr Ijaz-ul-Haq said while talking to press here at a one-day seminar here on Tuesday. The seminar on ‘New Laws on Honour Killing and Local Government Ordinance’ was organised by the NWFP women development department.
He said the government was not under any foreign pressure, nor would it ever accept a dictation from outside. The process of madressahs’ registration had been going on for the last one year and would be completed by December 31 this year. So far the provincial (NWFP) government has received about 4000 registration applications, he added.
Mr Haq said that women should have equal right to vote and contest elections. Islam had given adequate rights to women and no one should deprive them of these rights. He regretted that under the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government women were deprived of the right of franchise in some parts of the province.
“One gets an impression that Islam in the NWFP is different from the Islam in rest of the country, it should not be so”, Mr Haq observed.
He said that the federal government wanted to have cordial relations with the NWFP government. He said the federal government had taken the Hasba bill issue to the Supreme Court of Pakistan instead of taking any irrational action or imposing governor rule. The federal government was now waiting for the decision of Supreme Court, he added.
He also condemned killing of women in the name of honour and termed it un-Islamic.
WOMEN’S VOTE ISSUE: Meanwhile Advisor to the PM on Women’s Affairs Nilopher Bakhtiar has condemned ban on women’s participation in elections in some parts of the NWFP.
She said that she would lead a delegation to Lower Dir district to help women candidates file their nomination papers. “We will help those women who have been stopped from filing nomination papers” she added.
“Islam does not stop women from participating in elections”, she observed. She said killing of women in the name of honour was against Islam and a new law had made ‘honour killing’ a non-compoundable offence, she said.
Provincial Ministers Kashif Azam, Hafiz Hashmat and MPAs from various political parties also condemned attempts by some local leaders to bar women from casting vote in the upcoming local body elections.
Meanwhile NWFP Governor Khalil-ur-Rehman has expressed concern over reports of women being barred form participation in the elections process in certain parts of the NWFP.
While presiding over a high level meeting at the Governor’s House here on Tuesday, he said this would bring a bad name to the nation in the international community.
The meeting, which was also attended by Ms Nilofar Bakhtiar, was of the view that vote was a democratic right and no one had authority to deprive women of this right.
