PESHAWAR, March 13: Head of the 21-member Nifaz-i-Shariat Council has said the limited powers of the NWFP government are a hurdle in the way of Islamization in the province.

“Only the federal government has complete authority without whose consent it will be difficult for the provincial government to implement all the recommendations of the council,” Mufti Ghulam-ur-Rehman, the council chief, told journalists here on Wednesday.

“Judicial reforms top the priority list of recommendations, which would be announced on March 18,” he said.

“End of corruption and corrupt practices from society come next on the list,” he said.

The council has recommended reforms in the present police and patwari systems, which bred corruption and undermined social justice, he said.

“The present taxation system is unjust, which has economically squeezed the general masses,” he remarked.

The council has recommended to the MMA government some changes in the tax system which, if implemented, would bring positive change in society, he claimed.

“The Islamic economic experts of the council are studying the Islamic banking system of Al-Meezan and Al-Burka banks of Karachi and we have recommended to the government to establish an Islamic bank in the province,” Mufti Ghulam-ur-Rehman said.

The council also wanted to eliminate beggary from society and for this purpose, it recommended setting up of rehabilitation centres for beggars, he maintained. Such centres could also be established for drug addicts.

“The MMA government has also been suggested to shape plans for the promotion of cottage industry,” the council head said.

Compulsory education up to primary level and elimination of child labour from the province are two other of the council’s recommendations.

“We suggested that all the children must be sent to schools and stipends paid to parents who partly depend on the income of their children. We do not want economic injustice with the poor families,” Mufti Ghulam-ur-Rehman said.

All the commitments made by the provincial governments in the past with foreign companies would be honoured, he said. However, the MMA government has been advised to keep the interest of the local people uppermost when entering into a fresh deal with foreign firms, he said.