Ankara - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday called on the Constitutional Court to explain its verdict last week that annulled reforms that would allow women to wear Islamic-style headscarves at universities.

Speaking for the first time since the court ruled on Thursday that constitutional amendments moved by the Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) were against the secular status of the state, Erdogan said he would wait until the court explains the decision before making a detailed reply.

Erdogan warned that Turkey was being drawn into a conflict of authority because of the ruling and the way the staunchly secular opposition was dragging its fights with the government through the courts.

The prime minister also said he could not understand the reasoning behind the verdict pointing out that according to the constitution the court cannot look at the substance of amendments to the constitution, only procedural matters.

The ruling is a blow to the AKP. The issue of allowing students at universities to wear the Islamic head covering is the focal point of legal proceedings before the same court against the AKP that could see the party closed down and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan banned from politics for five years on charges of being "the focal point of anti-secular activities."

Staunch secularists see the government's moves to allow the headscarf into universities as proof that the AKP seeks to ultimately introduce Shariah (Islamic) law in Turkey.

The government responded that the bans currently in place were a violation of the right to freedom of religion.

On Tuesday, however, Erdogan did not discuss the headscarf issue itself concentrating instead on the constitutional issues surrounding last week's ruling. (dpa)