Government's failure to table the Women Protection Bill in the National Assembly for lack of quorum has set the alarm bells ringing in the Prime Minister House whose occupant faces the vote of no-confidence later next week.
Was the near en-bloc absence of the treasury members on Friday, when the Bill was to be presented, intentional or incidental - was the question that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and his caller, PML(Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, asked each other when they met on Saturday.
Also present at the meeting was Sardar Nasrullah Khan Dreshak, chief whip in the National Assembly, whose unenviable task - which gets tougher by the day - includes ensuring quorum in the house on day-to-day basis, and Information Minister Durrani and his deputy Tariq Azeem.
Paradoxically, even the prime minister, who owes his position exclusively to his majority support in the National Assembly, is a reluctant visitor to the house. So much so that he did not show up in either of the two houses of parliament throughout the debate on the aborted privatisation of the Pakistan Steel, which essentially centred on him.
Apparently, the said Bill does not seem to enjoy full support of the ruling coalition. The Cabinet in the last meeting rejected its draft and that remains the position. A case in point is Religious Affairs Minister Ijazul Haq, who has consistently opposed amendments to the Hudood Ordinance, the legislation that was originally authored and enforced by his (late) father president General Ziaul Haq.
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and some other members of the ruling coalition particularly those who represent rural constituencies too have expressed reservations about the amendments that embody the Bill. They believe that the Opposition can use the Bill against them in the coming elections.
Sources say that in the meeting at the Prime Minister House, Shaukat Aziz promised that the Women Protection Bill would be in accordance with the injunctions of the Qur'an and Sunnah and would serve as a 'symbol of women empowerment' in Pakistan.
Shaukat Aziz also argued that the Bill forms part of a process under which the present government has taken many other initiatives for providing protection to the women.
He reportedly upheld women's "very important role in our society as Islam gives respect and dignity to women", adding: "In the light of our traditions and faith the government would take all steps to give women their due place in the society."
Pointing out that Pakistan is proud of having the highest number of women parliamentarians in the world, the prime minister said that because of the steps taken by the government under the leadership of President General Pervez Musharraf the women are occupying several important positions in the government today.
Shaukat Aziz said the Opposition should not use the proposed legislation to gain political mileage, adding: "this is a national responsibility on our shoulders and we all should play our role in empowering women and giving them the status they deserve according to Islam."
Responding to the sentiments expressed by the prime minister, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain pledged his party's full support to all such initiatives "which are in accordance with the Qur'an and Sunnah and taken for the protection and empowerment of women." He said that women were exploited during previous governments. But the steps taken by the present government are far-reaching and would go a long way in promoting the status of women in Pakistan, he added.