Ulema express concern: Qadianis case on UNHRC agenda

ISLAMABAD: A delegation of Ulema from all schools of thought led by Maulana Muhammad Hanif Jalandhari Saturday called on Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and demanded that Qadianis efforts to defame Pakistan in the United Nations must be effectively countered at the government level.

The Ulema told Qureshi that Qadianis were declared non-Muslims in 1974 in the Constitution of Pakistan and demanded that the government should pursue the case and defend the country, as in 1988 the then president Gen Zia ul Haq had stopped Qadianis petition by sending a mission to explain the country’s stance on the issue.

The delegation also warned the government that if the matter was not properly handled, it might have serious repercussions for the country.

The delegation asked the government to repeat the history and effectively counter Qadianis attempt to malign Pakistan. It said the International Human Rights Organisation had again put up Qadianis case in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and unfortunately the Council had approved it for discussion. Maulana Jalandhari informed Qureshi that the people of Pakistan were seriously worried about the issue and warned the government of grave consequences if the case was not properly handled. He also informed Qureshi that Qadianis were continuously propagating and lobbying against Pakistan in all the international forums. The delegation comprised Maulana Farooq Khan Saeedi, Maulana Abdul Ghaffar Naqshbandi, Maulana Khalid Mehmood Nadeem and others. Qureshi assured the delegation of government’s full cooperation on the issue and later presented his cassock gifted by the Saudi King Shah Salman to Maulana Hanif Jalandhari.