ISLAMABAD, May 2: All the political parties in the National Assembly on Tuesday supported an opposition private bill to allow one-dish meal at wedding parties. The present law permits only light refreshments. The bill seeking to amend the Marriage Functions (Prohibition of Ostentatious Displays and Wasteful Expenses) Ordinance 2000 was moved by Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal MNAs Mohammad Laeeq Khan and Mohammad Hussain Mehanti. It was placed in the middle of a long agenda set for what was the first private members’ day of the assembly session.

In a move that seemed to have been already agreed with the leaders of parliamentary parties, Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain took out of turn what he called a matter of ‘general public interest.’ In a related development, PML president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain categorically announced at a reception on Tuesday that the law would be changed and a one-dish wedding meal would be allowed.