ISTANBUL, Nov 24: Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer warned Sunday against changing the law to allow women to wear headscarves in public places in the Muslim but staunchly secular country.

“It does not benefit anyone for the headscarf issue, which has reappeared on the agenda, to create problems again,” Sezer said, the Anatolia news agency reported.

His remarks put him at odds with the new government led by the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has pledged to lift the ban on headscarves.

Turkey’s new speaker of parliament, Bulent Arinc, created uproar on Thursday when he attended an official ceremony with his wife, who was wearing a headscarf.

Despite the majority of its population being Muslim, Turkey enforces a strict ban on headscarves in public offices and universities where they are viewed as a declaration of religious fundamentalism.—AFP