WP law never be changed: President
Vows to stay in Khaki indefinitely
Bureau Report

LAHORE—President General Pervez Musharraf Saturday categorically stated that the Women Protection Act would neither be repealed nor changed.
“The law has been passed; It will never be undone,” he said while speaking at the concluding session of the 1st International Conference’ “ The Other Self: Conflict, Confusion or Compromise,” at a local hotel. First Lady Begum Sehba Musharraf, Punjab Governor, Lt. Gen (rtd) Khalid Maqbool, Chief Minister Chuadhry Pervaiz Elahi, Federal Information Minister, Muhammad Ali Durrani and Federal Minister for Women Development, Sumaira Malik and delegates from 12 countries were also present on the occasion. Referring to his meetings with women in Karachi and Quetta, President Musharraf said that the passion and enthusiasm of women after the passage of Women Protection Bill had been encouraging.
A lot of efforts were made by the government for the passage of the bill as there were extreme views regarding the Hadood Ordinance, he added. It was not only the religious issue, he said and added that the government also had to look into the political and administrative connotations. He said the government took a holistic view of the issue. He eulogised the role of National Commission on Status of omen and Council of Islamic Ideology in the drafting and passage of the bill. Talking about the Hadood Ordinance, President Musharraf said that the ordinance comprised five laws and added that abolition of the entire ordinance was out of question.
He said that justice was one of the major pillars of Islam. The Women Protection Bill was passed to provide justice to women. He said the government was fully in control of the situation and could handle it ably. “ Let’s see who resigns,” President Musharraf said. President Pervez Musharraf said that religious elements had different lobbies like wafaqul madaris and those related to shrines. He said that government was talking to different religious lobbies to win over the moderate elements on its side and isolate the extremist elements. About NCSW recommendation for allocation of 50 percent technocrats seats of senate for women , he said that there was need to build capacity of women from every segment of the society. He said, in Pakistan, girls were doing better than boys in universities and other educational institutions. President said that Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was a woman and there were also women pilots in Pakistan Air Force.
“Even in Pakistan Military Academy, 31 girls were under training; There is a sea-change that is taking place in society,” he said. President Musharraf said that Pakistan is the only country in the world which came into being on the basis of islamic ideology. “Here no law that is repugnant to tenets of Islam and in conflict to Quran and Sunnah can be enacted.” However, he said, their is difference between Hudood and hudood ordinance. “While we cannot touch hudood we can touch and change Hudood ordinance which is man made law.” He said there is also difference over what is hudood and what is not hudood and also what is islamic and what is not islamic.