ISLAMABAD, SEPT 22: Dissent within the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) against the Shariah bill seems to be increasing although rebel PML lawmakers are staying away from a debate in parliament to avoid any further controversy.Only one ruling party member spoke on the bill during the national assembly session last evening.Members seem to be avoiding airing their dissent in the public, against the bill, which seeks to establish an Islamic society in Pakistan, following last week's incident of a member offering to resign after being reprimanded by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for speaking against the bill.But that is hardly stopping the members from expressing their opposition to the proposed legislation. One member from Karachi has once again come out against the bill, while a number of others have suggestions to improve the bill as suggested by Sharif after last week's incident.Ejaz Shafi, a national assembly member from Karachi, was quoted by the media as saying that the affairs all over thecountry would change if this bill was passed.``If Quran and Sunnah are the supreme law of Pakistan, what executive orders can you give over and above this? How would you deal with the fact that there should be no interest in banking? How will you deal with international agencies,'' he asked.While strongly opposing the bill, which is being brought to make Quran and Sunnah (sayings of Prophet) the supreme law of Pakistan, Shafi said he would not give any suggestion on the bill to the religious affairs minister.Sharif, after facing strong opposition from his own party members in the parliamentary party meeting which reportedly led to a senior party member offering to resign, had ordered a go-slow and asked members to give their suggestions to the Religious Affairs Minister Raja Zafarul Haq, for improving the bill.Haq yesterday confirmed that five of the ruling party members have submitted their proposals on the bill saying any new law should be passed by two-third majority from both the Houses ofparliament and not by a simple majority as proposed in the bill.The members, however, requested not making their names public.The bill was mainly attacked for making the amendment process easy through a simple majority which would give the ruling party much leverages and would undermine the importance of the upper House.The entire Opposition including Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has already declared that it is going to oppose the bill both inside and outside parliament and has threatened to launch a movement against it.However, the right wing religious parties are supporting the bill and urging Nawaz Sharif to immediately implement Islamic laws in Pakistan.
