By DPA
Islamabad : Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has turned down the resignation of Minister for Tourism Nilofar Bakhtiar who stirred a controversy by hugging her French parajumping instructor, his office said Wednesday.
Bakhtiar has been under fire from religious leaders since March when newspapers published photographs of her embrace after a successful flight in Paris to raise funds for victims of the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan.
But despite demands for her expulsion from the government and her subsequent decision to tender her resignation, there was little chance of being dropped, sources close to the Prime Minister's Office said.
"Her leaving the government could be seen as a denial of President (Pervez) Musharraf's policies that aim to project Pakistan as a liberal and modern society," a government source said.
Musharraf has championed a number of initiatives to further female emancipation under his proclaimed course of "enlightened moderation".
Bakhtiar is one of three female ministers in the government. In her earlier capacity as the prime minister's adviser on women's development she was at the forefront of moves to grant more equality to women in Pakistan.