Call to enforce Hazrat Umar law for prosperity

LAHORE
Believers across the country observed Thursday the start of new Islamic year, 1437 Al Hijra calendar, beginning with Muharram-ul-Haram, with traditional religious solemnity, but amidst strict security arrangements to avert the terrorism threat.
A number of religious organisations observed the 1st of Muharram as the martyrdom anniversary of Khalifah Hazrat Umar (RA), holding seminars and meetings to highlight his personality and achievements.
Hazrat Umar (RA), regarded as the most influential Muslim personality after the Holy Prophet (PBUH), was martyred by a Zoroastrian slave, Abu Lu'lu Feroze, who stabbed several times in his belly while he was leading the Fajr prayers at Masjid Nabwi. Different religious organisations held meetings and seminars across the city to commemorate the glorious achievements of Hazrat Umar (RA) and the piety and strength of his personality.
Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat took out a rally outside the Lahore Press club before holding a seminar chaired by ASWJ Lahore president Maulana Hafiz Hussain Ahmad and addressed by different scholars, who praised the KP and Sindh governments for declaring first Muharram official holiday as the martyrdom day of Hazrat Umar (RA) and demanded Punjab and Balochistan to follow the suit in line with the aspirations of the people.
Addressing the seminar, the speakers said if country could have public holidays for political leaders and international events, why not for pious Khalifahs. They said the solution to all the problems facing the country and Muslim Ummah lay in enforcing the Khilafat system again.
They said Hazrat Umar set glorious examples for the Muslim governors and administrators while managing the public affairs, and the Holy Prophet (PBUH) said about him that “if there was another prophet after me, it should be Hazrat Umar (RA).”
Addressing a meeting held by Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC), various speakers said entire non-Muslim world was following the traditions set by Hazrat Umar (RA) to reach heights of prosperity while the Muslim world itself had disowned the very system which Hazrat Umar (RA) and other Khulafa-e-Rashedin practiced.
A conference on Hazrat Umar (RA) Day was held by Tanzim Ittehad Ummat (TIU) at Jamia Masjid Hanfia, Sham Nagar, chaired by TIU chief Ziaul Haq Naqshbandi, and addressed by Allama Naeem Javed Noori, Mufti Masoodur Rehman, Qari Ghulam Hussain and others. They said despite having established the largest empire on earth spreading over 2.2 million square miles, Hazrat Umar (RA) lived humbly like an ordinary person. They said Holy Prophet (PBUH) said about him that Iblees fled away from where Umar (RA) was present. They said the traditions and trend of ruling and governance set by Hazrat Umar (RA) could make any state attain glorious achievements within few days.
The mourning activities began Thursday with a traditional procession from Imambargah Mohallah Shi'an inside Mochi gate.
The procession was led by Ameer Abbas Mirza and other elders and participated mostly by the children who marched to various other imambargahs inside the walled city before culminating from where they started.
General security in the country has been beefed up with tough protective measures for the mourning processions and majalis in view of the growing terrorism incidents across the country over the last decade. The government is set to adopt historic security measures like ban on pillion riding and even on mobile phones services etc., following the examples set by the previous government to ensure security for the Muharram processions, especially on 9th and 10th of Muharram.
To respect the solemnity attached with the event, the people belonging to other schools of thought will voluntarily take different measures including stop playing loud music, removing boards from cinemas and postponing marriage ceremonies etc. Newspapers will publish special editions while electronic media will air nohas, marsias, majalis and narratives of the Karbala tragedy to highlight the solemnity of the event.
The Lahore city district administration has taken extra security measures this year to maintain peace during Muharram and provide security to the Majalis-e-Aza and mourning processions scheduled to be taken out in different parts of the city.
To counter emerging security threats, specially in view of the targeting of mourning procession in the city during the previous years, special security arrangements have been made to maintain strict security at and around the mourning activities. Special control room have been set up to monitor the situation and respond to emerging threats timely.
Besides considerably increasing police patrolling and deployment at sensitive areas, paramilitary and army units have also been put on stand-by. Special squads of police and intelligence agencies have been formed to prevent any eventuality specially in the sensitive areas declared by the government. Bomb disposal squad, sniffer dogs and intelligence agencies personnel have been deployed to enhance their performance while reserve police forces have been called to deploy on the rooftops along the routes of the Muharram processions and other sensitive areas.