Law minister's efforts made 7B, 7C permanent part of Constitution: Saad Rafique

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) leader and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique on Monday said Law and Justice Minister Zahid Hamid’s efforts made it possible to make Sections 7B and 7C a part of the Constitution.

Section 7B states that the status of Ahmedis remains as stated in the Constitution of Pakistan, while section 7C states that if an enrolled voter's belief in the finality of Prophet Muhammad's Prophethood differs, they shall have to sign a declaration stating so, failing which their "name shall be deleted from the joint electoral rolls and added to a supplementary list of voters in the same electoral area as non-Muslim."

Speaking to the media after meeting a committee representing the protesters, who are staging a sit-in at the Faizabad interchange for over a week in protest against the government's change and then reversal of the finality of Prophethood oath for lawmakers, Rafique said that Sections 7B and 7C were ‘dead laws’ before they became a permanent part of the Constitution due to the law minister's efforts.

“We have responded to all of their [protesters’] reservations with logical arguments,” he said, adding that the government is ‘not in the least bit' inclined to use ‘power.’

“We don’t want to use power to disperse the protest but this shouldn’t mean that the protesters continue to paralyze the federal capital and deprive hundreds of thousands of citizens of their basic rights,” he stressed.

The minister further said that the government is bound to act upon the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) decision to end the sit-in.

“We appeal to the protesters to respect the rights of the citizens,” Rafique said. 

Talks between the government and protest leaders failed on Monday with no breakthrough in sight as the protest leaders continue to demand Hamid's resignation.

The government's team comprises of Rafique, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Raja Zafarul Haq, Rana Sanaullah and Captain (retired) Safdar.

Iqbal on Sunday had summoned the emergency meeting after appearing before the IHC which had ordered the government to clear the protestors by Saturday morning.

Earlier today, the interior minister, after appearing before the IHC, had appealed to the protesters once more to end their sit-in peacefully.

Iqbal had said once more that the government wants to avoid taking action for fear of bloodshed.

He had added that the Khatam-e-Nabbuwat laws are stronger than before.

"The impression that we compromised on Khatam-e-Nabbuwat is not correct. I am hopeful that we will resolve the issue in 24-48 hours," he said further.

On Sunday, the interior minister had said that all options are available for dispersing the Islamabad protest, adding that a security operation is the last option as the government will try to avoid bloodshed.

The IHC had given the government until 10am November 18 to remove the protesters 'with force if need be' but the government did not do so and instead opted for negotiations to find a peaceful way out.

Operation, though last option, is possible anytime against Islamabad sit-in: Iqbal

The government had conducted another round of negotiations on Saturday night, but that too ended in stalemate with the protesters refusing to budge from their primary demand for the law minister's resignation.