The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Supreme Council has decided “in principle” that its legislators will resign from the National Assembly in protest at the Protection of Women Bill, but not decided on when they will do so. MMA President Qazi Hussain Ahmed told a press conference after the Supreme Council meeting that the final decision would be taken in an MMA parliamentary party meeting in Islamabad on December 6. Sources privy to the meeting, which continued for about five hours, said that there was a clear split in the alliance and within its component parties over the resignations.
Qazi Hussain, chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami, insisted that MMA legislators should resign immediately, but Maulana Fazalur Rehman pressed for more time to “consult religious scholars and law experts” on whether the bill is against the teachings of Islam. He initially opined that this would take at least four more days. Maulana Fazl also suggested that the alliance could hold talks with the government to introduce amendments to the bill before it is put before the Senate for approval. |