WP law victory of moderate forces, says President

ISLAMABAD—Congratulating the whole nation over approval of Women Protection Bill 2006 by the Parliament, President General Pervez Musharraf Wednesday vowed to bring an end to all injustice against women and weaker segments of the society.
“Moderate and progressive elements of the society who are in a majority should rise up and show their real strength. I assure you moderate and progressive forces will prevail. The time is very critical you should reject fundamentalist and extremist forces. I hope that you will elect progressive people who want justice and moderation,” he observed this while addressing the nation after passage of Women Protection Bill in the parliament on Wednesday.
All the ill practices like Watta Satta, Wani marriage with Quran, divorce thrice will be abolished and more laws will be approved through the parliament, he held. The President with the onset made it clear that the incumbent government had taken several steps for women empowerment since coming into power four years ago and vowed to continue it in the future.
“I congratulate the whole nation that this historical bill has been passed by the Parliament, the women and girls of the country for whose protection this bill has been passed, the parliament and prime minister and PML President, Ch Shujaat Hussain and coalition partners MQM, PPP and PML-Functional and last but not the least Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) and Pakhtoon Khwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP) for supporting this bill and finally I will thank media for creating public awareness program through their medium regarding women protection since past few months.
I want to clear that some elements particularly Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) has been trying to create an impression that governments is trying to pass a bill that is against teachings of Quran and Sunnah. I want to make it clear that no Pakistani can pass any law that is against Quran and Sunnah and the Women Protection Bill is as per teachings of Quran and Sunnah, he categorically stressed.
Rape and adultery in Pakistan are dealt with under the Hudood Ordinance, a set of Islamic laws introduced from 1979 by Gen Zia-ul-Haq. They include sections prescribing lashing and stoning as punishments for adultery. “I want to apprise the nation in a simple manner as what really the WPB is. It comprises of five laws, Zina, (Zina Bil Raza,( Adultery) Zina Bil Jabr (Rape), Qazf , Prohibition (Liqour) and, Robbery, Whipping . Four of the laws have not even been touched they are still part of Hudood Ordinance.”
“Only Zina has been amended and according to the law and justice women have been protected.” When I studied it for the first time I was grieved and ashamed that how much, we and our society carried out injustices with our daughters, sisters. Women had been at the receiving end and it was their right to be protected from this cruelty, he added.—Agencies