Shahenshah Naqvi not banned from delivering speeches in Muharram: Sindh govt

After Shia groups on Sunday condemned the Sindh government for putting noted scholar Allama Shahenshah Hussain Naqvi’s name in the list of clerics banned from delivering speeches in Muharram, the government quickly removed Naqvi’s name from the list and issued a new notification.

Earlier in the day, the home department announced a ban on several clerics from delivering speeches during the holy month of Muharram. The announcement, subsequently, irked Shia groups which said putting Naqvi’s name in the list was a government’s attempt to appease rival sects.

In a statement, the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen said Naqvi enjoyed respect not only in the Shia community but also among Sunnis. The party also held a protest against the government’s move in Jaffar Tayyar Society, Malir, and demanded of Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to remove Usman Chachar, a senior government official, from his post for putting Naqvi's name in the list. The group also demanded of the government to lift a ban on Shia scholars from entering some districts in Sindh.

Later, the Sindh government issued a new notification, clarifying that the notification that imposed a ban on “firebrand speakers” had caused confusion “due to incomplete name" of a "Zakir Shahanshah Naqvi" in the list.

But, it said, the name had been "removed to clear any confusion due to incorrect/erroneous report from Police sources”. It added: “There is no ban on Allama Syed Shahenshah Hussain Naqvi and any inconvenience caused due to erroneous reporting from field officers is regretted”.