Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said he had discussed the issue earlier Sunday with his Afghan counterpart, Dadfar Spanta, who had assured him that the process of enforcing the law "has been halted."

"A decision was made to halt this legislation and, at the same time, send this package back to the Minister of Justice so that the Minister of Justice can put together a package that will abide, of course, by the constitution of Afghanistan and, at the same time, respect the rights of individuals, of course, the rights of women," Cannon told CBC television.

The Shiite Personal Status Law covers Afghanistan's Shiite minority, which makes up about 15 percent of the population.

Under the new regulations, Shiite women would be forbidden from leaving their homes except for "legitimate purposes." They are also banned from working or receiving education without their husbands' permission.

"We expect the law to be changed (and) certainly not the provisions that concern us to be enacted," Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Peter Kent said in an interview with CBC News.

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