Religious parties observe ‘Haya Day’

LAHORE: Different religious organisations on Monday observed February 14 (Valentine’s Day) as Haya Day and held protests and meetings, warning the government and masses against what they called lewd and immoral western cultural values being enforced in the country in the garb of alien festivals.

Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Sirajul Haq said that the PTI government has actually been pursuing an agenda to promote the western values in order to secularize Pakistan, in sheer contrast to Imran Khan’s two-decade-long claims of transforming Pakistan into Madina-like state.

He said this while addressing a “Haya Day” camp in front of the JI headquarters, Mansoorah set up by JI-affiliated students’ organisation Islami Jamiat Talaba to counter the western cultural values.

The JI chief said that the successive governments, over the last 74 years, have been pursuing the western agenda of replacing Islamic values of decency and modesty with the western values of vulgarity and obscenity, asking the Muslim youth to stand firm to protect the ideological boundaries of the country.

He said the BJP-RSS government in India was involved in the worst crimes against the Muslim minorities in the so-called biggest democracy but the UN and other human rights’ bodies merely issued statements against it and did nothing to stop it. He stressed the need of unity in the Muslim Ummah, saying it was the only way to stop injustice against Muslims in different parts of the world.Other organisations and parties like JUP and Majlis-e-Ahrar Islam also held meetings to condemn the NGOs and certain sections of media for observing the western cultural festivals that offensively contradict the structure of Islamic society and values.

They demanded the government to take notice of such activities that violate the Constitution of Pakistan, which specifically required the promotion of Islamic values and teachings in the country.

The meeting was also addressed by Secretary General Abdul Latif Khalid Cheema, naib ameer Malik Muhammad Yusuf, Syed Ataullah Shah Bukhari Salis, Dr Muhammad Omar Farooq Ahrar, Mian Muhammad Owais, Qari Muhammad Yusuf Ahrar, Syed Ata Al Manan Bukhari, Dr Muhammad Asif, Maulana Tanveer Al Hassan Ahrar, Hafiz Ziaullah Hashmi, Haji Abdul Karim Qamar and others, who appealed to the masses to reject the un-Islamic values and symbols being promoted in the country to alter its Muslim identity.