Leaders condemn defence minister’s statement about Hafiz Saeed

LAHORE: Political and religious leaders have said that Khwaja Asif is the defence minister of Pakistan, but he has become the mouthpiece of India.

They said the Pakistani nation condemns Kh Asif’s statement against Hafiz Saeed, as the Jamaatud Dawa chief is a patriotic leader of the country. This was stated by various political and religious leaders while reacting to a statement of Kh Asif, he issued in Germany the other day saying that “Hafiz Saeed can become a threat to society”.

Those who condemned the statement were: Defence of Pakistan Council Chairman Maulana Samiul Haq, Shah Zain Bugti, Sardar Attique Ahmad Khan, Liaquat Baloch, Senator Muhammad Ali Durrani, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed, Sardar Latif Ahmad Khosa, Senator Hafiz Hamdullah, Jamshed Ahmad Dasti, Shah Awais Noorani, Hafiz Abdul Ghafoor Ropari, Syed Ziaullah Shah Bukhari, Allama Mumtaz Awan Hafiz Khalid Waleed and others.

Maulana Samiul Haq said Kh Asif must have raised in Germany the issue of atrocities, being committed by the Indian army in Held Kashmir. Shah Zain Bugti said that Hafiz Saeed’s detention had weakened Kashmiris struggle for their liberation from India.

Former prime minister Azad Kashmir Sardar Muhammad Attique said that government functionaries like Kh Asif were issuing media statements to appease India. Jamaat-e-Islami leader Liaquat Baloch said Kh Asif has lost control over his tongue, no matter he was inside the country or abroad.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Mahmoodur Rasheed, the opposition leader in Punjab Assembly, said he condemned Kh Asif’s statement against Hafiz Saeed, as the government has adopted a defensive policy as far as India and the US were concerned. He said the statement showed as if Kh Asif was the defence minister of Pakistan but India.

Meanwhile, Jamaatud Dawa announced holding protest rallies across country on Tuesday (today) against Kh Asif’s statement in Germany. A spokesperson said protest demonstrations would be held in all big cities and towns of the country on Tuesday against the statement. He demanded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif take notice of the statement. A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting here on Monday with Prof Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki in the chair.