JUI protests closure of seminary

PESHAWAR: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) on Wednesday staged a protest and blocked the main Jamrud Road against the closure of a religious seminary.

The protesters warned the government to immediately reopen the institution or else they would extend the protest to other parts of the province and the country.

Led by provincial president of the party Maulana Ataur Rahman, scores of workers of JUI launched a protest march from Palosai village and reached the Jamrud Road near the Spin Jumaat and blocked it for all kinds of traffic.

The road blockade caused a massive traffic mess that took more than an hour to clear.

The protestors were holding banners and placards inscribed with slogans against the government. They were also chanting slogans against the rulers and in support of religious seminaries.

The speakers flayed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government for what they called toeing the line of their western masters and taking action against the religious seminary.

They said that the closure of the religious institution was the top agenda of the government. But they would not allow the rulers to accomplish their nefarious designs against the seminaries. They also condemned the arrests of their party leaders.

They threatened to extend the series of the protest to the entire province and the country if the seminary - Ahya-ul-Uloom - was not reopened and the party members released at the earliest.