Govt to support Aurat March with strings attached.

ISLAMABAD -- The government on Friday announced its support for Aurat March on the occasion of International Women's Day on Sunday and expressed the hope that the participants of the march would not harm honour and dignity of the country.

The opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) also backed the march programmes, but asked the organisers to take a stance which was culturally acceptable to society.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), however, announced complete support for the march with no strings attached. It accused both the Pakistan Tekreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and PML-N of being on the same page on the issue of women's march.

Speaking at a ceremony on Friday, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said the government would give full support to the march on Sunday provided it 'does not trample on the country's honour'.

She said that strengthening women was the PTI government's most important mission. She, however, wondered what kind of power did (women marchers) want by coming out on roads and raising slogans not permitted by 'values of our society, religion and family'.

As PPP comes out with all-out backing, PML-N asks organisers to take a stance culturally acceptable to society

'We will have to trace who are those handful people who possess this mindset and why they are busy in misleading the entire nation, especially women,' she said.

The special assistant did not elaborate what she was meant by the 'mindset' which, she claimed, was misleading the people.

Dr Awan said the Constitution provided full protection and rights to women and that it was the aim of the government to make women independent.

The women march last year caused some controversy over some of the placards held by activists of the march which were inscribed with slogans which opponents of the march claimed 'violated Islamic principles' and were 'disrespecting women'.

They said that placards and banners of the march 'violated the country's cultural values'.

Speaking at a press conference, PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that his party always supported the struggle for basic rights of women and always fought for freedom of expression in the country.

He said that a slogan which had become controversial in society was actually written in English...