PM promises more laws on women rights
Staff Report

ISLAMABAD—Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that the completion of four years by the Parliament is a historic development which is marked by the passage record and said that the government will keep up its campaign and introduce more legislation in order to further enhance and protect the rights of women.
He was talking to Speaker National Assembly, Ch. Amir Hussain and PML President Ch Shujaat Hussain who called on him at the Prime Minister’s House Friday afternoon separately to discuss the legislative agenda for the next Parliamentary year. Talking to Ch Amir Hussain the Prime Minister congratulated him on the successful completion of four years of the Parliament and has said it is poised to complete its term in first time in the history of the country.
The Prime Minister said that many legislations of historic importance were passed by the parliament in the last four years. He said that more new laws would be passed in the next parliamentary year to improve the legal system so as to provide justice to the people. The Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction on the performance of the Parliament in the last four years and appreciated the positive role played by both treasury and opposition benches. The constructive atmosphere in the Parliament has reinforced democracy as well as strengthened parliamentary traditions in the country.
The Prime Minister said it is heartening to note that business of the Parliament during the last four years was conducted in a spirit of congeniality and conciliation in which both the government and the opposition played a critical role. The Prime Minister hoped that this atmosphere would prevail in the parliament in its fifth year too. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz talking to Ch Shujaat Hussain has said that the government will keep up its campaign and introduce more legislation in order to further enhance and protect the rights of women. The Prime Minister congratulated Ch. Shujaat Hussain on promptly submitting a draft bill in the National Assembly to end un-Islamic practices like marriages of girls with the Quran and customs like Vanni and Swara.
The Prime Minister said that as in the case of Protection Bill, all legislation will be in strict compliance of both the and spirit of Islam. The government, he said, will consult all including the civil society, women groups, ulema and religious scholars as well as political parties before finalizing the legislation. The Prime Minister appreciated the role played by all parties to introduce important legislation in the Parliament and hoped that the process of consultation has created a good atmosphere to pursue legislation in national and public interest.
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain congratulated the Prime Minister on successful completion of four years of Parliament and discussed the parliamentary calendar and legislative agenda for the next year. Agencies Add: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday said the passage of Women Protection Bill was a step towards women’s emancipation, as more legislative measures will follow to guard them against social injustices and excesses. “A draft bill to save women from social customs like marriage with Quran, inheritance issues and procedure of divorce, has been presented to Speaker National Assembly”, he told a large audience of working women here at the PM House.
The meeting of working women from various civil and military institutions including Army, Air Force, Navy, Police, Traffic Police and some others was held to celebrate the new legislation. The Prime Minister said the new legislation, which will protect the women against injustices, was adopted to plug the loopholes in the previous law, which was being misused specially in the rural areas. He specially mentioned the inclusion of a clause in the new bill which provides punishment of five years for those who make false accusations.
The Prime Minister described as false propaganda by some elements about the new legislation and said the women protection bill was fully in line with injunctions of Islam.