Chief Minister, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Ameer Haider Khan Hoti has asked the trading community to withdraw decision of the shutter down strike on Friday. Speaking on the floor of Khyber-Pakhtukhwa Assembly, he said that business activities have hardly restored in the militancy-hit province. He stressed need for tolerance and resolution of issues and problems through democratic and constitutional means.
The chief minister was speaking in response to an adjournment motion of Hafiz Akhtar Ali of JUI-F on the debate on blasphemy of Holy Prophet (SAW) by a Christian woman of Sheikhupura, Punjab. He categorically said that the government has no plan for making any amendments in blasphemy law. The government, he mentioned, has issued policy statement by Khurshid Shah, Federal Minister for Manpower and Religious Affairs on the floor of National Assembly that they have no intentions of amendments into blasphemy law.
He made it further cleared that they will strongly oppose and resist any such move of the government. Hoti, however, said there is no justification to protest after the assurance of federal government. He said that protest and demonstrations are legal and constitutional right of any one, but the provincial is not in the position to hold strike.
"We respect decision and stand of opposition parties for protesting over blasphemy of prophet (SAW) by a Christian woman, but there was need to punishment accordance to law", he maintained. The chief minister urged the opposition leaders and traders to withdraw their strike schedules for Friday. Meanwhile, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Thursday passed unanimous resolutions demanding ban on illegal marriages and establishment of Nadra Kiosks in Munda, Dir Lower.
The resolution of ban on illegal marriages of teenage and adolescent girls was presented by Zarqa Bibi of JUI-F. In her resolution, she said that in Swat, Chitral, Mardan, Charsadda and Nowshera districts, adolescents and teenage girls are sold to aged, married and other persons from Punjab in the name of marriage. The business is carried with the help of brokers and some girls even have to face severe torture and forbade from meeting their parents. Such girls also abused in the name of being sold, she revealed.
She called for proper legislation and imposition of ban on such illegal business as well as registration of marriages at the union council level, and taking stern action against those involved in such illegal activity. The second resolution was presented by Uzma Khan for establishment of another Nadra Kiok centre in constituency PK-95 in Munda, saying that the existing centre is insufficient for 0.5 million population of the area.