KARACHI, July 6: MNA Dr Farida Ahmed Siddiqui of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal has demanded immediate dissolution of the Islamic Ideology Council, maintaining that it does not represent masses.

Addressing at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Thursday, she said that the government should nominate such ulema to the council who represented all schools of thought and possessed complete knowledge of the Holy Quran, Hadith and Sunnah, Fiqah, etc., and alleged that the government had instead made the nominations on political grounds.

Accompanied by JUP women wing leaders Shamim Safdar and Zohra Rafiq at the press conference, Dr Siddiqui said that there had been seats lying vacant in the council while only 12 persons had been nominated and among them, none appeared to be a woman.

There may be some administrative flaws in the Hudood Ordinance but the same can be removed through amendment. However, if any attempt to repeal the ordinance was made, the MMA would launch a protest movement against it, she warned.

She said she had also proposed some amendments to the ordinance for which a draft had been submitted with the National Assembly secretariat long time ago with a view to get such flaws removed, and regretted that the draft had not been brought to the agenda of the house for a discussion as yet. Perhaps owing to these flaws, she said, the Hudood Ordinance had grossly been misused by administration and police.

Ms Siddiqui said that certain sections of the Muslim Family Law also needed to be reviewed.

Criticising the slow pace of investigation into the Nishtar Park bomb blast, she demanded arrest of culprits without wasting more time.

Referring to the power crisis, water scarcity, increasing inflation and other serious problems, she said people were losing patience now and if the government did not take effective measures to address these issues, the masses would launch a vigorous protest movement against it.