Political and trade bodies hail women bill

Various organisations, including political, religious, social and trade bodies have welcomed the passage of Women Protection Bill by the National Assembly.
Minister for Communication and Works Chaudhry Zaheeruddin, who is also PML Punjab General Secretary, has termed the passage of WPB fulfilment of yet another promise by President General Pervez Musharraf and said it also indicated that the democratic institutions were working independently in Pakistan.
He said the WPB was completely in conformity with Islamic teachings and was fully reflective of the views of the PML and its allied parties. He termed November 15 a historic day for Pakistan and said it not only marked the completion of four years of the elected National Assembly but this landmark law was also adopted with a majority vote on this day.
He expressed satisfaction over the positive attitude of the two major political parties of ARD and said PPPP openly supported the bill while Nawaz League indirectly favoured it by refusing to oppose it on the floor. "This indicates that these parties also share the identical views and are actually supporting President Musharraf over the Bill," he said.
Zaheer said President Musharraf was trying to transform Pakistan into an enlightened, modern and progressive state according to the vision of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal and no law could be passed against the wishes of masses.
He said some opposition parties tried hard to bring people on roads over WPB but failed as majority of people were supporting President Musharraf on the issue. He said MMA leaders were playing gimmicks by threatening to resign from assemblies, adding neither they would resign nor they were in a position to launch a move against the government.
He said majority of people wanted to protect the legitimate rights of women so that they could also play a role in national uplift. He thanked Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and parliamentarians for the passage of WPB.
He also urged party workers to gear up their mass-contact campaign to pave way for the success of the PML-nominated candidates in the coming general election. Chaudhry Ali Akhtar Khan, Nazim Madina Town, termed the bill victory of patriotic and enlightened people. He said it showed that extremists would face defeat in the upcoming elections. Chaudhry Sajjad Haider Cheema, Nazim Iqbal Town, also hailed the passage of WPB.