Munawar Naqvi
ISLAMABAD: A peaceful Protest Day was observed across the country on the call of Patron-in-Chief of the Shia Ulema Board Quaid-i-Millat Jafaria Agha Syed Hamid Ali Shah Moosavi against the Protection of Islam Bill passed in the Punjab Assembly. Protestors in all major and minor cities of Pakistan, including the provincial capitals, vowed that the nation would not rest until the bill, which is against the Quran, Sunnah and the Constitution, is rejected in accordance with the constitutional procedure. The vowed that they reserve the right to take any major action after this symbolic protest to save Pakistan’s foundations and religious freedoms for which a high-level emergency meeting of Tehreek Nifaz-i-Fiqh Jafaria has been convened.
The government has been asked to make it clear that they will not bring any such bill in future. They said the implications of the bill are not limited to just ‘Alaihisslam’ or ‘Salamullah Alehey’ but it is an effort to open a Pandora’s Box of anarchy. They feel that efforts are being made to confiscate books from Nehjul Balaghah to Sunni books like Ghaneeta Al-Talibeen. Maktab-e-Tashih full believes in respecting the holistics of all other Makatab in addition to that of Maktab-e-Tashih. The tradition of imposing the beliefs of one sect over others should be given up. Making decisions in respect of Islamic beliefs by giving unlimited powers to a bureaucrat or any unconstitutional unrepresentative controversial board is making fun of the religion. Taking part in elections on the basis of biases including on the basis of sect, Maslak and lingual belonging should be declared prohibited. They said that Pakistan was though and created jointly by Shias and Sunnis and they will also protect it from the internal and external enemies of the motherland by following their beliefs and ideologies and will never allow anyone to cause any harm to the Two-Nation Theory.
Earlier, addressing the event of Youm Safeer-e-Hussainiyyat at the headquarters of the Maktab-e-Tashih, Agha Syed Hamid Ali Shah Moosavi said that at a time when Pakistan was struggling to get out of the FATF’s gray list, a conspiracy was hatched by the proscribed organizations by bringing a controversial bill which he considered an attempt at destroying Pakistan’s reputation all over the world and to give new lease of life to the proscribed organizations. The controversial bill should not be made a Shia-Sunni issue. He vowed that they will not allow the Kharji ideology to succeed. He said there is Hussain Ibne Ali’s (A.S.) blood in the foundations of Islam therefore all powers could not even jointly cause any harm to it.
Meanwhile, addressing the protest rallies were addressed by Allama Basharat Hussain Imami at at National Press Club Islamabad; Allama Hussain Muqadisi and Hassan Kazmi in front of Lahore Press Club; Allama Asghar Naqvi at Karachi Press Club; Hadi Askari and Sardar Tariq Jafari at Quetta Press Club; Sajid Kazmi at Bagh Press Club, Azad Kashmir; Allama Abdul Hassan Sarhadi at Dars Al-Muhammad, Faisalabad; Maulana Madhosh Bhutto and Qazi Ghulam Raza at Larkana Press Club; Abu Jafar Kayani at Peshawar Press Club; Ghazanfar Shah Advocate in Kohat; Engr Qamar Hasnain and Mohtasham Naqvi in Multan; and Sardar Naveed Baloch in Jhang.
The leaders of Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Fiqh-e-Jaffariah rejected the Protection of Islam Bill and passed resolutions by the participants of these rallies. One of the resolutions said that the purpose of this so-called bill is to violate the spirit of the Constitution and to introduce the ideology of eternal enemies of Pakistan by sabotaging the Two-Nation Theory. This protest is not against any party or sect but against this narrow-minded ideology which is a national ideology that desire to make Pakistan a State of a particular group state and they will never let such elements to succeed.
Another resolution lamented the fact that at a time when Muharram is about to begin, the launch of a bill that has embraced contradictions and controversies is a conspiracy to plunge Pakistan into sedition. According to that bill advertisements for Milad-e-Mustafa (SAAW) and Majalis-e-Iza have been made controversial. This bill would make it impossible to bring research in any country of the world before Pakistani students. No pilgrim will be able to bring Quran from Madinah and no pilgrim from Karbala and Najaf will be able to bring the book on Seerat of Aaimma Tahireen (A.S.) and Ziaraat. In other words, the bill aims at pushing Pakistan towards the stone-age contrary to the imaginations of Allama Iqbal and Quaid-i-Azam. The fears of Shiite and Sunni majority are not undue that all books from Nehjul Balaghah to Sunni books like Ghaneeta Al-Talibeen could be banned under this bill. The Shia and Sunni people of Pakistan will not allow this nefarious plan to turn Pakistan into Rwanda.
Another resolution questioned that why Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervez Elahi had got passed the controversial bill? Why the Rules of Business were violated and why the bill was got passed in a hurry without any debate on it? What was the reason for the hasty passage of such a bill without any discussion, the vicious attempt to fulfill the dream of a dictator by trampling on democracy? We will never allow them to succeed. Under the guise of the bill, some elements have tried to create rifts in the Shia-Sunni brothers. The resolution said that Pakistan’s conscious people will never allow these heinous efforts to succeed.
Some elements who are trying to create division in Sunni and Shia brethren have been made it clear the honour and dignity of Mashaheer-e-Islam is part of faith of Shiaan Haider-e-Karrar. The Tehreek Nafaz Fiqh-e-Jafariya is raising voice of protest for the last four decades against the demolition of holy shrines in Jannatul Baqee and Jannatul Moallah in which shrines of nine Ummahatul Momineen including Hazrat Ayesha and Hafsa, Sahaba Karaam, parents of the Nabi Kareem (SAAW) are situated. The Tehreek Nafaz Fiqh-e-Jafariya was the first to raise their voice against the shrine of Hazrat Umaar bin Abdel Aziz (R.A.). The leaders of the proscribed parties are allowed to pay homage at the graves of their forefathers while Muslims are not allowed to shower flowers at the graves of offspring of the Rasool (SAAW), Ahle Bait Athaar (A.S.) and Ummahatul Momineen (R.A.).
Another resolution reiterated the long-standing point of view of Quaid-i-Millat Jafariya Agha Syed Hamid Ali demanded to declare taking part in elections on any bias including sect, Maslak and lingual basis prohibited. Although people of Pakistan has rejected the biased parties for ever but despite that the whole lot of democratic loving and human loving friends have been polluted by a few members who raise the voice of ‘Kafir, Kafir’ succeed in reaching the Assembly. The resolution drew the attention of all politicians who, for their own political interests, make sit the proscribed parties with them left to right and even form alliances with them are include them in constitutional organisations like Islamic Ideology Council, advising them not to do so as it would be tantamount to treachery with more than 70 thousand Shuhada of Pakistan’s Armed Forces and people.
The resolution demanded from the government to implement every provision of the National Action Plan and tighten noose around those proscribed parties that are now working by changing their names. It said that every religious party should be directed to submit their income and expenditure and offered Tehreek Nafaz Fiqh-e-Jafariya first for this purpose.
Meanwhile, according to Secretary TNFJ’s Central Protest Committee Malik Ashtar, protest rallies were also taken out in Dera Ismail Khan, Parachinar, Taxila, Haripur, Jhelum, Dina, Chakwal, Attock, Fateh Jhang, Pindigheb, Vehari, Khanewal, Sialkot, Khairpur, Mirpur Khas, Dadu and Sukkur demanding withdrawal of Protection of Islam Bill.