Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has termed the safeguarding of women rights through the adoption of the Women Protection Bill(WPB), a commendable step of the present government and made it clear that no clause of the bill is opposed to the teachings of Islam.
He was addressing the joint Provincial Parliamentary Party meeting of the Muslim League and the allied parties here on Thursday, disclosed an official.
The CM felicitated President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Ch. Shujaat Hussain and the National Assembly members over the adoption of the bill on his part and his associates. On this occasion, he also announced that the Muslim League government would bring in more laws for the protection of women rights and against all the anti-Islam traditions like 'vani', honour killings, marriage with Holy Quraan and deprivation from inheritance.
He pointed out that all the requirements of democracy had been kept in view in the process of adoption of the Bill while previously no such arrangement was ever made in the history of the country to bring forward different aspects of any other bill through negotiations, seminars, debates and mass media.
He disclosed that Qazi Hussain Ahmed was also contacted with regard to that bill but he replied that it was useless to remove their apprehensions since their agenda was merely to pull down the government.
"It was the ground reality that not even a single political party of the country voted against the said bill. However, it was deplorable to witness that some circles were opposing the bill not on religious grounds but merely on the basis of political priorities," he added.
According to him, the present assembly was the first one during the last 30 years to complete its four-year term and the government made record legislation for the people's welfare during that period. The Punjab Assembly had proved the propaganda against the assembly members that the MPAs did not discharge their duties wrong through its action.