Women lawyers led by Mussarat Hillali, S. Naz Mohammadzai and Shehnaz Hameed Khattak, staged a rally in response to the acceptance of the Hasba bill and insisted the NWFP governor not to sign it. They also offered a memorandum at the Governor’s House.
The lawyers are not in favor to pass the bill, as it would mean a parallel judicial system.
Ms Hillali, former vice-chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan says,
‘This bill is aimed at imposing the clerics’ version of martial law. The provincial, district and tehsil mohtasibs will all be clerics and they will curb civil liberties in their areas of jurisdiction.’
She further said that although the bill includes all the required laws but it overshadowed other laws as well like, the Local Government Ordinance, adding that who could guarantee that the ‘anti-vice police’ would not limit the civil liberties.
