ISLAMABAD, Dec 11: Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on Monday established telephonic contacts with the ulema, who had met him in Islamabad on Dec 3, in order to allay their reservations about the Protection of Women Act.

The ulema team met leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) at the party’s headquarters in Karachi on Dec 9. The ulema also spoke to Altaf Hussain.

Chaudhry Shujaat, president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML), is reported to have told Qari Hanif Jallendhri, spokesman for the Tahaffuz-i-Hudoodullah Committee, that he would respond as soon as the party finished discussing the six-point memorandum outlining the ulema’s reservations on the bill.

Qari Hanif denied that the ulema team had discussed anything other than the Protection of Women Act with the PML team. So far as the tabling of the new bill was concerned, he said, it was based on “our proposals” but it was “not as significant as the Protection of Women Bill”.

Chaudhry Shujaat had declared that the two sides had discussed the new bill and the women protection law was a settled issue. Mr Jallendhri said the ulema had met Chaudhry Shujaat and both sides had decided to continue the ongoing negotiations on the issue. He said they would meet again once the PML leaders had completed their deliberations.