Wafaqul Madaris wants Bakhtiar to quit

Senator Nilofar Bakhtiar asked to quit after recommending lifting ban on sale of liquor in govt run restaurants.

ISLAMABAD: An umbrella organisation of Deobandi seminaries across Pakistan has asked a woman senator to quit her office for a controversial statement.

The media last week quoted Senator Nilofar Bakhtiar as saying that the Senate standing committee on tourism would recommend lifting of a ban on the sale of liquor in government-run restaurants, enabling them to overcome the financial crunch.

“Nilofar defamed Islam when she was a federal minister in Shaukat Aziz’s cabinet. She resigned amid strict criticism of her alleged involvement in a controversial parachute jump in France which could never be exercised by a Muslim woman,” said a statement issued by Wafaqul Madaris al Arbia Pakistan.

The organisation has urged PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to cancel her membership and impose a lifetime ban on her. “Nilofar should seek forgiveness for giving un-Islamic statements.”

Lifting the ban on liquor will put the country on the verge of collapse and will encourage people to violate the constitutional identity of the state, the statement said.

Meanwhile, Senator Nilofar Bakhtiar told The Express Tribune that her statement was misinterpreted in the media. “I never said that the ban should be lifted on liquor for Muslims,” she said, adding, “The ban should be lifted for foreigners who visit Pakistan frequently.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2010.