Speakers at a seminar condemned the Punjab government for closing its eyes to its ministers keeping contacts with sectarian groups banned on terrorism charges, demanding the dismissal of Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah for having close contacts with a banned group.
Addressing a seminar to mark the first death anniversary of noted scholar and Jamia Naeemia principal Dr Sarfraz Naeemi on Saturday, the speakers warned against an international conspiracy to scrap blasphemy laws by taking advantage of the attacks on Qadiyanis worship places, vowing to launch a movement to resist such moves with all possible might.
They also lashed out at PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif for declaring Qadianis “our brethren” and announced that followers of Ahle Sunnat school of thought would not vote for him in future elections and would contest elections from their own platform.
The seminar, first of a series of countrywide seminars to be held in connection with the death anniversary of Dr Sarfraz Naeemi, was presided over by Jamaat Ahle Sunnat Pakistan chief Sahabzada Mazhar Saeed Kazmi. Dr Naeemi’s elder brother, Mehfoozur Rehman Naeemi, was the chief guest whereas his son Raghib Hussain Naeemi presented the presidential address.
Those who spoke on the occasion included Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Samsam Bukhari, Pir Kabir Ali Shah of Choorah Sharif, JUP president Dr Abul Khair Mohammad Zubair, Khalilur Rehman Chishti, Abdul Mustafa Hazarvi, Dr Raheeq Abbasi, Sunni Tehrik leader Sarwat Ijaz Qadri, Abdul Rehman Bukhari, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq MNA, Pir Afzal Qadri, Tanzimul Madaris secretary general Mufti Ghulam Mohammad Sialvi, noted journalists Orya Maqbool Jan, Irshad Arif, Mujibur Rehman Shami and Justice (retd) Nazir A Ghazi.
The speakers paid glowing tributes to the services and personality of Dr Sarfraz Naeemi who had always raised voice for promoting peace and harmony. They expressed concern that, if on the one hand, the government had badly failed in nabbing his killers and breaking the network of terrorists and, on the other hand, its ministers were maintaining relations with the banned sectarian groups.
Minister of State Samsam Bukhari said arresting the killers of Dr Sarfraz Naeemi was the responsibility of the Punjab government, and added that it was a matter of great concern that Punjab ministers had been in league with top office-bearers of banned sectarian and terrorists groups during the by-elections. He said the politics of the PPP had always been clean and it had never maintained liaison with any terrorist or banned group for any purpose. Mufti Ghulam Mohammad Sialvi lashed out at PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif for declaring Qadianis “our brethren”, saying the PML-N, a political child of a military dictator, had not only kept close relations with terrorists for political interests but was also now trying to win over Qadianis for the same reason. He said no follower of Ahle Sunnat school of thought would vote for the PML-N in future and would contests elections from their own platform.
Sahabzada Abul Khair Mohammad Zubair said that had the government arrested killers of Dr Naeemi, the terrorism would have been eliminated from the country.
Raghib Naeemi alleged that the previous governments had been favoring a rival sect on all levels of social and public life. He warned that if the government failed to give due space to Ahle Sunnat and remain helpless in providing them protection against the extremists, they would be compelled to buy arms for their own security.
The participants of the seminar passed resolutions and demanded the dismissal of Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, immediate arrests of the killers of Dr Sarfraz Naeemi and other notables of Ahle Sunnat school of thought, breaking of the terrorists network by rising above political compulsions. They condemned repeated attempts of blasphemy by European press and restrictions on Muslims to practice their dress code in Europe. They not only came hard on Israel for its atrocities against Palestinians and attacks on relief workers but also criticized the UN sanctions on Iranian peaceful nuclear program.
