ISLAMABAD,February 12, 2005:President Pervez Musharraf has agreed to the Pakistan Muslim League’s (PML) demand for the restoration of women’s quota at the union council level, Nilofer Bakhtiar, president of the party’s women’s wing, said on February 11.

Ms Bakthiar led a delegation of the central leaders of the PML women’s wing to a meeting with President Musharraf at Army House on Friday. The meeting discussed important political matters and lasted four hours. Ms Bakhtiar told journalists after the meeting that President Musharraf had accepted the party’s demand to increase the women’s quota to 33 percent of seats. She said the number of seats reserved for women had been increased from three to four. She said now there would be four seats for women out of 13 at every union council. Ms Bakhtiar said that the president had also promised to restore honorariums for women councillors.

Meanwhile, addressing the members of the women’s wing, President Musharraf said it was time women contributed more actively to the country’s development. “Women have never been empowered as much as they have been now. They should now come forward to make Pakistan a dynamic, Islamic welfare state,” he said.

He said the government had launched major development projects in Balochistan and hoped that people’s lives would be bettered and tens of thousands of jobs would be created in the province after the completion of these projects.

He said the government would protect national assets and installations at all costs and nobody would be allowed to create a law and order situation. President Musharraf said Pakistan would continue fighting terrorists until they were flushed out of the country.
Source: Daily Times
Date:2/12/2005