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Musharraf signs Hudood Bill

Nirupama Subramanian

ISLAMABAD: Facing down criticism by religious political parties that amendments to the Hudood ordinances adopted by both Houses of the Pakistan Parliament were anti-Islamic, President Pervez Musharraf on Friday signed the Women's Protection Bill 2006 into law.

Gen. Musharraf placed his seal on the Bill a day after consultations with the Council of Islamic Ideology, a government advisory body on religious affairs.

The CII was reportedly of the view that the new law did not violate any injunctions of the Koran or Sunnah.

But the legislation, which came into effect after the signing by the President, has angered the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, a coalition of six religious parties.

The MMA has described the Bill as anti-Islamic, but not all its constituents are opposed to it equally strongly.

The most vociferous opponent is the Jamaat-e-Islami, which wants the MMA to resign from the National Assembly en masse hoping to force a political crisis on the Government.

On Thursday the JI attempted to take out a rally in Punjab province from Lahore to Gujarat, the hometown of Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain, president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League(Q).

But police prevented the rally from reaching Gujarat.

The other important constituent of the MMA, the Jamaat-e-ulema Islami, is not keen on resigning from Parliament and has kept a low profile in the agitation against the Bill.

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