Wah ji..Roshan khyals at their best.
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly witnessed uproar on Tuesday following a controversial interpretation of a Quranic verse by Dr. Sher Afgan Niazi, federal parliamentary affairs minister, saying “men are authorised to thrash wives having bad character”. The statement and its subsequent endorsement by some Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal lawmakers, especially Liaquat Baloch and Maulana Chitrali, were so provocative that all the women MNAs set aside their political associations to show a rare harmony against this wrong interpretation of Quranic verses. Representing the disgruntled lot, Samia Raheel Qazi, the daughter of MMA chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad said, “There is no explicit verse in the Quran that directs men to beat their wives, even if they are of bad character.” But this was not endorsed by her fellow male MNAs. In fact, the uproar was seen after MNA Sherry Rehman from the opposition benches moved a bill, The Prevention of Domestic Violence Bill 2006 for discussion in the House. And once the bill was tabled, National Assembly speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain asked parliamentary affairs minister Dr Sher Afgan whether or not he was opposed to the tabled piece of legislation. Strongly opposing the bill, Afgan created a stir in the House by declaring that the bill “goes against the basic principles of the Holy Quran and Sunnah”, arguing “under the Islamic laws, a man is authorized to thrash his wife if she is of bad character or not loyal to him”. “If she does not change conduct, her husband is allowed to bash her again and even he has the powers to throw her out of the house by divorcing her,” Afgan maintained.
As Afgan was going ahead with his wrong interpretation of Quranic verses, MNA Maulana Chitrali of the MMA raised slogans in the minister’s favour and assured him of “complete support of the ulemas” on the matter by visiting him in person.
Also a good lawyer, PPPP MNA Aitzaz Ahsan defended the bill that according to him ensures provision of equal rights to men and women as mentioned in Article 25 of the Constitution. Proposing voting on the issue whether the bill should be debated in the House or not, he remarked, “Let’s see who is with the wife-bashers and who is not.”
Seeing the things going out of his control, the speaker called Liaquat Baloch for help. But instead of helping the speaker, Baloch stoked up the pandemonium by stating while raising his fingers towards protesting women MNAs that “these are the women against which Islam has given the bashing verdict.”
But on being directed by the speaker, Baloch made an apology. However, the protesting MNAs turned their guns towards Afgan. Making a wise move, the speaker ordered voting on the discussion on the bill and there came a majority vote in favour on the debate that will take place in next private member’s day on Tuesday.
