Discussion on Hudood Ord in parliament in August
ISLAMABA, July 13 2006: Pakistan Muslim League Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Sayed on July 12 said that the issue of the Hudood Ordinance would be discussed by the parliament next month and that a consensus decision would be made. Addressing a seminar on the issue of “Repeal Hudood Ordinance”, organised by the NGO, Action Aid, Mushahid said that the government wants to take the decision with the cooperation of other political parties. He appreciated the role of NGOs and the media for creating a momentum and hoped that they would continue to contribute positively. Mushahid said that the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), headed by Dr Khalid Masood, has already looked into it and presented its recommendations.
He said that the government wanted to deal with the issue of the Hudood under the penal system of the country. He said that the National Commission on Status of Women has also discussed the Hudood laws and has also given a similar opinion as of the CII. He said that the government has been moving in the right direction on the issue and urged the political parties to express their views beyond party-politics. He said that it seems that the progress is slow but clarified that the government is committed to finding out an amicable solution. A number of speakers belonging to different political parties and a cross section of the society demanded to repeal the Hudood Ordinance as they considered it against the fundamental rights. Mehnaz Rafi, Member of the National Assembly (MNA) of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) said that the PML government had taken a number of steps and discussed the Ordinance and prepared recommendations, adding that many PML women members have demanded to repeal the Ordinance.
Appreciating the Ordinance issued by President Musharraf to release women from the jails, she said that there should be a law stating that a woman should not be arrested before she is proved guilty of the crime. Fauzia Wahab, MNA of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), also demanded to repeal the Ordinance and said that those who promulgated such laws should also be punished. Hina Jilani, Haji Adeel, leader of the Awami National Party, Farzana Bari, Kanwar Khalid Younas and other speakers demanded the government to repeal the Ordinance.
Source: The Nation
Date:7/13/2006
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