Government seems to be undermining national unity :Sirajul Haq

Lahore: Ameer, Jamaat e Islami, Pakistan, Sirajul Haq, has said that there had been a big change in the national outlook and policies after the Peshawar tragedy but the government seemed to be undermining national unity and harmony at the instance of some unknown power.

Addressing the JI central Shoora at Mansoora on Thursday, he said that the government attitude regarding Islam and Islamic signs and symbols was also most deplorable. He said the government should have tried to further promote the national unity achieved in the wake of the Peshawar tragedy. However, he said, unfortunately, the official amendment in the constitution incorporating the words of religion and sect, had inflicted serious blow to that.

He said the official amendment had opened the door for the terrorists to kill as many people as they liked only if they were wearing trousers and shirts and not Shalwar and Kameez, and they won’t be called terrorists. The amendment had given license to kill to everybody who is not supporting a beard and is not wearing a cap, he added.

Sirajul Haq remarked that the JI would not let the tears shed by PPP Senator Raza Rabbani to go waste, and added that Insha Allah, democracy and democratic institutions would flourish in the country. However, he said, the nation would not forgive those who tried to thrust dictatorship in the name of democracy.  He said the JI had suggested that in the official amendment, the words “ religion” and “sect”, should be replaced by “educational institutions”. Had the government not done haste in getting the 21^st amendment passed, the atmosphere of national unity should have been promoted further, he added.

He said the entire nation condemned terrorism and added that the JI had offered greatest sacrifices for the security of the country. However, he said the government had sown the seeds of hatred and reaction by targeting religion in particular. He said after the Peshawar tragedy, all political and religious parties had demonstrated great unity and understanding and given full mandate to the rulers to adopt every possible step to uproot terrorism. However, the government had targeted the madrissahs and religion instead of terrorism.

The JI chief stressed that a list of those convicted in terrorism cases should be prepared to ascertain how many of them had been studying at the madrissahs and how many were associated with the colleges and universities. He said that the objective of targeting the religious madrissahs was to place restrictions on the Islam and the Islamic institutions, so that the secular agenda could be advanced.

Sirajul Haq said that civil war and conflicts were going on in as many as thirteen Muslim countries where Muslims were shedding the blood of other Muslims. He said that by closing the doors of democracy, the people had been driven to the gun.  He said that imposing an opinion on someone by force was un-Islamic. However, he advised the Islamic forces to continue their struggle with firm resolve  and perseverance, equipped with the power of argument and knowledge