‘Hudood law will be amended, not repealed’
ISLAMABAD, July 17: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Thursday threw his weight behind the cabinet members who advocated that the controversial Hudood Ordinance be amended rather than completely scrapped and formed a three-member committee to take all political parties into confidence.
The decision came at a meeting held at the President House where at least three members of the federal cabinet —** Minister for Information Mohammad Ali Durrani, Minister for Women Affairs Sumaira Malik and Minister for Tourism Nilofer Bakhtiar — made out an impassioned case for immediate repeal of the Hudood Ordinance.**
But Law Minister Wasi Zafar, Minister of State for Law Shahid Akram and Minister of State for Religious Affairs Aamir Liaquat Hussain carried the day when their demand for making suitable amendments to the Hudood Ordinance found favour with the president.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said he saw eye to eye with the president that the Hudood Ordinance should be amended rather than repealed.
According to a private TV channel, the president directed the cabinet to present a draft bill on amendments to the Hudood Ordinance to the National Assembly on Aug 5.
In the meantime, the committee will seek suggestions from political parties on proposed amendments to the ordinance. It consists of Aamir Liaquat Hussain, Pakistan Muslim League secretary-general Mushahid Hussain and National Security Council secretary Tariq Aziz, who will also head the committee.—Agencies.
So there are at least few brave souls in the Pakistani cabinet who would like to see the hadood ordinance repealed. Mush is obviously going back on his stated opposition to hadood. I don’t think Mush has the courage to face the mullacracy by replealing hadood. Shaukat Aziz is a rubber stamp PM who has to my knowledge never expressed an opinion even slightly opposed to the Prez.
Hats of to the three ministers who had more courage than Aziz.
whether its scrapped and redrafted or edited, as long as the end results are right, it should be okay. It took a great effort to bring the issue forth and to get the support and to apply the pressure to start making a change in teh status quo.
Mush has called hadood law as a very touchy and thorny issue that needs to be debated. Are you so naive mad-S that you don't understand that this is veiled opposition to the law? You just don't want to hear what you don't agree with. Some people would say you are not a mad-scientist, just mad. In fact a lot would. Most muslim scientists that I know would like to have hadood scrapped yesterday.