News
Monday, January 24, 2011
JI against dialogue with India until Kashmir issue resolved
* JI chief calls for clear Indian stance on Kashmir, end to terrorism in Pakistan
* Demands dissolution of committee for proposing amendments in blasphemy law
By Akhtar Amin
PESHAWAR: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Syed Munawar Hassan on Sunday asked the federal government not to resume dialogue with India until it ended terrorism in Pakistan and resolved the core issue of Kashmir.
The JI staged a grand sit-in in front of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and registered its protest against increasing drone attacks, military operations in the Tribal Areas, countrywide lawlessness, price hike, the gross injustice being meted out to the flood affected people and also to press for the recovery of the thousands of missing persons. The sit-in was organised by the JI Khyber Pukhtunkhwa.
Addressing the sit-in, the JI chief claimed that India was involved in terrorist activities in Pakistan especially in Balochistan. He said that dialogues should never be held until India adopted a clear and categorical stance on Kashmir, stopped terrorist activities inside Pakistan and awarded punishment to the perpetrators of Samjhota Express blasts.
Terming as insufficient the prime minister’s announcement not to amend the blasphemy law, JI vowed to continue and expedite the campaign for upholding the sanctity of holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Hassan said that the prime minister should make a categorical announcement about the blasphemy law on the floor of the National Assembly. He said the bill submitted by Sherry Rehman for amendment in the law should be withdrawn and the committee formed under Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, regarding proposed amendments in the blasphemy law should be done away with. Only then the religious circles, he said, would think about winding up the campaign. The IJ chief warned the rulers against any change in the blasphemy law, saying millions were ready to sacrifice their lives for the sanctity of holy Prophet (PBUH).
He said propaganda was being made that the blasphemy law was being used against the minorities. Giving statistics, he said, 964 cases had been registered under the law since its inception in 1986, of which 479 were against Muslim citizens while only 119 belonged to the Christianity community.
The JI chief also came down hard on the military operations in various parts of the country, saying the series of operations should be stopped forthwith and army should be withdrawn from Malakand division and the Tribal Areas.
Participated by thousands of JI activists from across the province, the sit-in was the first biggest political gathering in the provincial metropolis in the past several years. Noted among those who addressed the gathering were former JI chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad, IJ’s Central Vice President Sirajul Haq, Provincial President Prof Muhammad Ibraheem Khan, Maulana Muhammad Ismail, Mushtaq Ahmad Khan and Sahibzada Haroonur Rasheed.
Addressing the gathering, Qazi Hussain Ahmad said, “Members of the Christian community are the citizens of the country and we are bound to provide them protection. But we will not allow anybody, whether he is a Christian or Muslim, to commit blasphemy against of holy Prophet (PBUH).” He urged the party workers to spread the message of Islam and the teachings of Holy Prophet (PBUH).
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk