GILGIT, April 9: Some women members of the Northern Areas Legislative Council (NALC) have opposed the nomination of Ms Atiqa Ghazanfar as representative of the Northern Areas in the National Commission on Status of Women (NCSW).

Talking to reporters after the NALC session on Thursday, these members - Ms Farida Batool, Aqeela Khatoon and Shaista Shamim Hamza - said that the nomination was not done on the basis of merit as Ms Ghazanfar had already represented women from Northern Areas in the NCSW.

Farida Batool said that she had been reassured by President Pervez Musharraf, that the selection of the Northern Areas' representative would be made on merit.

Other women members of the NALC said they had submitted the names of Farida Batool, Erum Wali Khan and Nasira Begum for representing the Northern Areas in the NCSW but these names were rejected by Kashmir and Northern Areas division. Criticizing Ms Ghazanfar's selection, they alleged that she could not properly represent the region as she lived in Islamabad.