ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir, while terming Fasad Fil Arz (anarchy) as the biggest crime, has called upon Ulema and Mashaikh to bring back society to moderation and negate Fasad Fil Arz.
“Pakistan Army under the ordains of Allah Almighty is striving to eliminate unrest and we do not consider such people as Pakistanis who do not accept Shariat and the Constitution,” the COAS, while addressing the National Ulema Convention, here on Thursday said.
“We swear to Allah that we will stand before those whosoever attempts to create anarchy in the country as according to Almighty Allah, Fasad Fil Arz is the biggest crime,” the army chief maintained. He pointed out that criminals and smugglers are backing terrorism while anarchy is being spread through social media. He maintained that no power in the world could harm Pakistan because this country was created to exist forever. “Millions of Asim Munirs, politicians and religious scholars will be sacrificed for Pakistan because the country is more important than us,” he maintained. “If someone has to know the importance of the state, then he should ask this question from the people of Iraq, Syria and Libya.”
He called upon Ulema and Mashaikh to promote tolerance and unity against extremism and division. “They should bring back moderation in the society and negate Fasad Fil Arz,” he added. Negating extremism, the COAS said that in the Holy Quran, Allah Almighty also says that there is no ‘Jabr’ (coercion) in ‘Deen’. He said Pakistan has been hosting millions of Afghans for the last four decades. “We are convincing them to refrain from opposing a brotherly Islamic country like Pakistan.”
Acknowledging the unmatched sacrifices rendered by the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, General Syed Asim Munir said the entire Pakistani nation salutes them for their services and sacrifices. He said that they ask people that it was their right to protest but they should remain peaceful. Calling Khwarij as the biggest Fitna, the army chief also recited from the poetry of Allama Iqbal. In his remarks about the respect of the Holy Prophet (SAW), the COAS categorically stated that no one can dare disrespect the Holy Prophet (SAW). He said the Western culture and way of life are not people’s ideals and they should be proud of their own civilisation. While calling for adhering to own civilisation, he again quoted Allama Iqbal.
General Asim Munir also asked where those were who had claimed to sink the Two-Nation Theory in the Gulf of Bengal. About Kashmir, the army chief said Kashmir is an unfinished agenda of the partition of the sub-continent. Regarding Palestine, he said, “Our hearts bleed while seeing atrocities in Palestine and Gaza.” He said it was a lesson from the situation of Palestine that the nation itself would have to protect the country and make Pakistan stronger.
In his address, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the political government and constitutional institutions were in unprecedented harmony, cooperation and unity in the country. “I am saying this with full confidence in the light of my 40 years political experience that I have never witnessed such national harmony, unity and cooperation between the political government and constitutional institutions,” he said.
He said the cooperation between the political government and the army chief has certainly been unprecedented and a role model for the future. He said that after hearing the very emotional and heart-warming speech of General Asim Munir, there was no need for any addition. “The speech the army chief delivered is according to teachings of the Holy Quran and in the light of Ahadees of Holy Prophet (SAW) and is a beacon of light.” Shehbaz said the army chief himself is Hafiz-e-Quran and teachings of the Holy Quran are embedded in his heart and mind. In his speech, the prime minister said the COAS talked seriously about the economic crisis being faced by the country and presented solutions as per the directives of Holy Quran. He said the leading Ulema and Mohaddiseen are sitting here at this event and what the army chief talked about is the same path towards which the Creator of this universe had guided humanity.
The prime minister said on the 14th of August the nation would be celebrating the 77th Independence Day of the state for which hundreds of thousands of people rendered sacrifices under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam, adding the country needed unity and national harmony more than it needed in the past. “We need to move forward while learning lessons from the past and will have to keep in mind not only collective failures, but collective successes also and bring the country at stage for which it was achieved,” he said.
Shehbaz said that unfortunately, the nation had not been able to achieve the objectives of the creation of Pakistan. “But still we can do this by following teachings of Holy Quran,” he said. He pointed out that the army chief also talked about Fitna Al Khawarij. “All Ulema and religious leaders better know as to what disastrous role, this Fitna played in the Islamic history and we learn less from the history,” he said. The prime minister said the nation would have to face enemies of the country who claim to be Pakistanis.
Shehbaz called for efforts to wipe out Fitna al Khawarij, a term referring to Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, which he said was involved in anti-Pakistan activities. He also criticised the use of social media to spread lies and propaganda – particularly after 2018, instead of appreciating the government’s efforts for public services. He said even the army soldiers, who sacrificed their lives to protect millions of other children from being orphaned, were being humiliated on social media.
Calling the May 9 attacks the most heart-wrenching incident in the country’s history, the prime minister highlighted that the characters behind the tragedy of 1971 met their fate in Bangladesh amidst the recent developments in that country. He urged Ulema to play their role to do away with the division in the society and highlight the Islamic economic system and said that no force could obstruct the country’s development if the nation was determined to achieve its goal.
Shehbaz told the gathering that the government was making all-out efforts to address the economic challenges and expected the upcoming International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme to be the last one. He assured the gathering that the coalition government and the COAS were in consultation to work out a comprehensive plan to bring ease to the inflation-stricken people and the provinces would soon announce their respective plans. He said the IMF programme was a compulsion to bring economic stability, productive employment and reforms in the FBR and power sector.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Ulema Council has appealed to the Islamic scholars of the country to raise voices for the minorities rights in Friday’s sermons all over Pakistan. Pakistan Ulema Council also announced to support and endorse the stance of COAS General Asim and PM Shehbaz elucidated through the address at the conference.
Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, in a talk with The News on Thursday, said that Ulema and Mashaikh would make sermons on the topic of minorities’ rights in mosques all over Pakistan in Friday prayers.