MWM rejects new bill

LAHORE:Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslemin (MWM) has rejected the Tahaffuz-e-Bunyad-e-Islam Bill recently passed by Punjab Assembly, terming it provocative and hurting the religious beliefs and sentiments of Shia community, and a bid to provoke sectarian strife in the province.

The MWM has begun efforts to prevent it from becoming a law by the signatures of Punjab governor. MWM Punjab spokesman Allama Mukhtar Imami said every Muslim firmly believed in sanctifying the honour of Holy Prophet (PBUH), his Ahle Bait (RA) and Sahaba (RA), but the intended law aimed at turning the Pakistan of Quaid-e-Azam into a sectarian state.

The patron of Punjab MWM Abdul Khaliq Asadi has written a letter to Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar asking him to consult Shia representatives before signing the bill. He demanded that the bill should be sent back to the assembly for necessary amendments.

Allama Mukhtar Imami alleged that followers of banned outfits had misled the members of Punjab Assembly into making a legislation which aimed at challenging the statutes of Constitution of Pakistan and to push the Shia community to the wall.

A delegation of Shia representatives led by MWM deputy secretary general Iqbal Ahmad Rizvi called on Punjab Law minister Raja Basharat and indicated that the Bill hurt the basic beliefs of Shia community which are sanctified and held above everything. The minister assured the delegation of resolving their reservation over the Bill. Other members of the delegation included Allama Hasan Raza Hamdani, Allama Hasan Najfi, Asad Abbas Naqvi, and Zohra Naqvi MPA.