The Steering Committee of the Tahafuz e Namoos e Risalat vows struggle against the blasphemy

Lahore: The Steering Committee of the Tahafuz e Namoos e Risalat at a meeting here on Wednesday vowed not to sit at ease until and unless the blasphemy of all the Prophets (AS) and the desecration of the revealed books was pronounced a crime at an international level.

The committee, headed by Liaqat Baloch, decided to set up a permanent forum comprising representatives from religious, political and social figures that would adopt effective measures to prevent incidents of blasphemy and desecration.

Addressing a joint press conference after the meeting, Liaqat Baloch said that there was no room for profanity in any religion yet there had been repeated incidents of blasphemy of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the desecration of the last divine book, the Quran, while the international organizations had remained completely silent.

He said that federal Minsiter Kh. Saad Rafiq had given an assurance to the committee that the government would take up the blasphemy issue with the international forums with full force. Liaqat Baloch said that the nation had is eyes on the government but the government reaction to the issue was not up to the nation’s expectations. He said there had been much delay and the government would have to move quickly.

The meeting set up a permanent committee comprising retired judges from the superior courts and senior lawyers to prepare draft for the law in this direction.

It also announced a sub- committee that would meet the ambassadors of different countries to take up the issue with them. The committee included JI’s Abdul Ghaffar Aziz, Mian Muhammad Aslam, Dr Arif Alvi, Qari Zawar Bahadur and Allama Zubair Ahmed Zaheer.

The committee tasked to prepare draft legislation against blasphemy included among others, Justice (rtd), Abdul Hafeez Cheema, Justice (rtd) Nazir Ahmed Ghazi, Justice (rtd) Hafiz Abdur Rahman Ansari. A committee headed by Dr Farid Ahmed Piracha would prepare a memorandum to be presented to the Secretaries General of the United Nations, the OIC and the European Union on the issue. A media  committee headed by JI Information Secretary Amir ul Azeem and with representatives from all other parties, was announced for effective rebuttal of the propaganda and conspiracies of the western media against Islam,  the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and the Quran.

The Steering committee decided to hold an Ittehadul Ummah conference in Islamabad on March 25. It also decided to stage a Tahafuz e Namoos e Risalat march also in the federal capital on April 5. All religious and political parties would join the march as a single entity, and the participants would carry a uniform banner/ pamphlet inscribed with the word “ I am Muslim and Muhammadi). The members of the minorities in the country would also be invited to the march.