Interior ministry denies plan of monitoring Friday prayers

ISLAMABAD: A spokesman for the Interior Ministry has said no proposal of monitoring the Jumma Khutba (Friday sermon) by the government was under consideration. However, he said a proposal is under consideration to set up a committee of Ulema which is frame code of conduct for Khutba of Jumma prayers. The spokesman said the Ulema meeting urged the need for promoting character building, national unity and unity of Muslim Ummah through Friday sermons.

Waseem Abbasi adds: The correspondent stands by his story that all the information mentioned in the story was 100 percent correct. The government did prepare a plan to regulate and monitor Friday prayers. The documents prepared by the Ministry of Interior and available with this correspondent mentioned monitoring of Friday prayers through Special Branch officials. Even in its clarification, the Ministry of Interior has confirmed its plan to regulate the Friday prayers.

The story had detailed version of DC, Islamabad.The ministry is under pressure from religious scholars and backtracking on its original plan but that doesn’t affect the authenticity of the information.