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Pak Opposition vows to defeat Islamic law

Pakistan's Opposition parties have vowed to form a grand alliance to stop a proposed constitutional amendment that would impose Islamic law in the country.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief's proposed new Islamic order would undermine the constitution, wreck the state institutions and threaten the country's unity, Opposition politicians said yesterday.

''These proposed laws are a conspiracy against the country and a joke on the name of Islam,'' senator Ajmal Khattak, leader of the opposition Awami National Party and a former ally of Sharief said. ''We have decided to form a grand alliance of Opposition parties and start a movement against the bill in early September.''

The proposed constitutional amendment introduced on Friday would scrap the British common laws and impose laws based on the Muslim holy book, the Koran.

Sharief controls a two-thirds majority in parliament and it seems likely the amendment will pass with little difficulty.

The Opposition says the amendment would impose a system in Pakistan like the one in neighbouring Afghanistan. In that country, girls have been forced out of schools, women off the jobs and into the all-enveloping burqa by the Taliban.

In a speech to parliament yesterday, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto said the country's security was threatened because of the radical Taliban militia.

She said Sharief supports Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban, because he wants to impose a similar type of government in Pakistan.

''We have recognised the Taliban government and are pleading with every country to recognise it. But what have we gained from our support for them?'' she asked.

The government dismissed Bhutto's criticism, saying the Taliban movement was conceived during her term in power. It's widely believed that Bhutto's interior minister Nasrullah Babaar supported the creation of the Taliban in 1994.

Bhutto said Pakistan's support for the Taliban has soured its relations with Russia and Iran.

Khattak told the media the amendment suppresses the rights of the provinces, curtails the power of judiciary and undermines the constitution.

UNI

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