PESHAWAR, Nov 1: Speakers at a seminar here on Wednesday said the issue of amending the Hudood laws had been politicised and the Protction of Women’s Rights bill would not make much of a difference.

The speakers at the seminar on ‘Repeal of Hudood ordinances and the Protection of Women Bill’ held by the Aurat Foundation had divergent opinion about the bill’s effectiveness if it was passed by the National Assembly.

MNA Mehnaz Rafi of the Pakistan Muslim League said she was hopeful that even if the Hudood ordinances were not repealed, the amended law would bring about some positive changes.

She said the offence of rape had been differentiated from adultery in the bill. In adultery cases, the accused and four witnesses would appear before the court before an FIR could be registered, she said. She said women were getting their rights.

It was due to women MNAs’ efforts that the law on honour killing had been passed and laws on inheritance and marriage with the Holy Quran, harassment of women and domestic issues were under discussion in the committees concerned, she said.

Answering a question, the MNA said she was in favour of repeal of Hudood laws but she also favoured the bill for protection of women’s rights. “But the maulvis are a hurdle and they never let us do anything”, she said.

Mehnaz Rafi said the government wanted to bring the bill to the National Assembly.

Awami National Party’s senior vice-president Haji Mohammad Adeel alleged that President Pervez Musharraf had backed out of his statement about repeal of the ordinances.

“He wants to take the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal along and he has sided with them,” the ANP leader said.

He said the People’s Party Parliamentarians should not have given up its stand on the issue and the ordinances imposed by a dictator, Ziaul Haq, should have been repealed.

Criticising the army generals for violating the constitution, he said: “They should be punished under the Hudood ordinances.”

Naeem Mirza of the legislative watch group of the Aurat Foundation said Qazf and punishment should be redefined in the bill. There was also need to look at the punishment of Rajam, he said.

He, however, termed the bill a positive change, saying that earlier the Hudood laws were considered ‘divine’ and nobody was allowed to discuss or review them for repeal or amendment.

Frontier Law College Principal Akhtar Ali Khan said the bill would not bring about any major change in the situation.

Religious scholar Dr Mohammad Farooq Khan said the bill was not much different from the Hudood ordinances and it wouldn’t do much to protect women’s rights. He said the ordinances had polarised the society. If a law created injustice and gave benefit to the culprits it should be out-rightly repealed, not amended, he said.