WPB to enhance country’s stature, says Sumaira
By Bushra Rafique

ISLAMABAD—Federal Minister for Women Development and Youth Affairs Sumaira Malik said Wednesday with the passage of women’s rights protection bill, the country’s stature would rise and praised Pakistan peoples Party Parliamentarians for its back.
She was talking to media persons after her address to investitureceremony of students council of Islamabad College for Girls F-6/2 here.
She said it was not correct to say that women’s protection bill, whichwould help restore the lost status of women, was repugnant to Islamic injunctions and it was good that PPPP supported it, describing it a beauty of democracy.
She said MMA should not resign from the Parliament as they had nojustification in this regard as the bill was in accordance to the Quranand Sunnah, and if they resign, we would see at that time.
“We tolerated the injustices in wake of flawed provisions of Hadoodlaws for the last 27 years, but now these had been rectified in the shapeof women’s protection bill and those saying it was contrary to Quran and Sunnah, were saying incorrect”, the minister said while addressingthe ceremony.
She said the government was committed to emancipating womenfolk,making them self-reliant in all respects through sincere measures andpassage of this bill besides other steps all contributed to this objective.
She asked the gathering, mostly students, to apprise and spreadawareness about the bill, a major break through as she described, for those women living in remote areas of the country.
“You (students) are architects of the country’s bright future and theambassadors of underprivileged women, and tell them about protectionensured to them under the bill by the government’, said the minister who also proudly described the development as “another feather in thegovernment’s cap.
She also said that ministry of Women Development would provide buses tothe college soon to overcome transport issue, which would have goodeffects on the study environment for the girls, she added.
She appreciated the role of the institution for imparting quality educationto the students and hoped that the young segment of the country’s population would continue the same spirit and efforts to steer country towards heights of developments as per our ancestors’ vision.
Speaking on the occasion, Principal, Professor Shaista Pirzadahighlighted the achievements of her college in promotion of quality education and asked the students to keep up their efforts for socio-economic development of the country. She also appreciated the ministry of Women Development and Youth Affairs for launching women welfare projects besides its contributionfor passage of the WPB.
Earlier, the minister administered oath to the student council, asking them to discharge their duties with responsibility as “you have to take the role as leaders of the country’, she told.
The Members of the Committee were of the view that completion of the project would have a direct bearing on the economy of the country and directed the concerned authorities to make no compromise on the quality and standard of work. It is pertinent to mention here that the Committee has already assigned the task of monitoring of the project to Senator Liaqat Ali Bungalzai so as to ensure proper appraisal of the on ground situation.
The meeting was attended, besides the Chairman of the Committee Senator Kamil Ali Agha and by the MOS for Petroleum, Mir Mohammad Naseer Mengal, by Senators Naeem Hussain Chatha, Nawab Muhammad Ayaz Khan Jogezai, Muhammad Saleh Shah, Dr. Muhammad Ismail Buledi and Liaqat Ali Bungalzai. Federal Minister for Communications, Muhammad Shamim Siddiqui, Secretary Communications, Mr. Tariq Mehmood, IG Motorway Police, Mr. Ahmed Naseem.