ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Tuesday echoed with demands of sacking the chairman of the Council for Islamic Ideology (CII) for his statements and recommendations regarding changes in the divorce law.

The government disowned the recommendations of the Council and announced to send them back to the CII for review. The recent recommendations of the CII have been criticised by religious scholars of all shades. The matter was raised in the National Assembly on Tuesday by PML-N legislator Sahibzada Fazal Karim, who termed the CII recommendations a conspiracy against the PPP government and demanded sacking of its chairman.

Responding to a point of order raised by the PML-N legislator, Minister for Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi shared his views and said the PPP-led coalition government had nothing to do with the recommendations of the CII. “It was not the decision or viewpoint of the government but that of the members of the CII,” he added.

He said religious scholars and Ulema had reacted sharply to the recommendations. He told the House that presently out of 20 members, the CII had only eight members and the government would soon fill the vacant 12 posts and the matter would be sent back to the Council for reconsideration.

Law Minister Farooq H Naek said these were only recommendations given by the CII and they would become law only if parliament approved them. “I assure you that the government will not make any law against the Holy Quríaan and Sunnah,” he added.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan, who was chairing a two-member committee to review the recommendations of the CII, said this report had not been prepared by the PPP government.

He said the report was presented to the president, who assigned a two-member committee to review the same before sending it to the government. “I had asked the CII chairman to give me a copy of the report and I assure the House that no law against the injunctions of Islam would be passed,” he added.

Earlier, while raising the issue on a point of order, Sahibzada Fazal Karim said the CII chairman had given some recommendations to the government for amending the laws about Nikah and divorce, which had caused concern among Ulema and scholars. “The government should take notice of such acts that are only aimed at defaming the PPP government. Moreover, the CII chairman should be sacked,” he added.