Alleged attack on mosque and seminary: JUIF demands arrest of PTI workers

TIMERGARA: The workers of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl here on Monday staged a protest outside the office of the district police officer demanding the arrest of those workers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who had allegedly vandalized a mosque and madrassa run by the religiopolitical party in Timergara.

The protesters chanted slogans against local police for not registering the first information report (FIR) against those who were allegedly involved in the attack on the madrassa and torturing its students.

Chanting slogans against the government, they marched on the road from Timergara to Balambat. The charged PTI supporters on Sunday night had allegedly attacked the mosque and the madrassa in Timergara to express anger over the ouster of Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote.

The PTI workers allegedly tortured the students at the seminary. Four students were injured in the incident. Speaking on the occasion, JUIF district amir Maulana Sirajuddin and others asked the district police officer to lodge the FIR against those involved in the attack.

However, the local PTI leaders and MPs denied involvement in the incident and termed the allegations baseless. Some PTI workers in Lower Dir turned to social media and condemned the attack demanding action against those involved in the incident.

Meanwhile, the JUIF has taken exception to the alleged attacks on mosques and religious leaders by the frenzied workers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and asked the government to take action against the perpetrators.

In a joint statement issued here by JUIF provincial President Maulana Attaur Rahman and General Secretary Ataul Haq condemned the recent attack on the mosque in Timergara and bullying of religious clerics in Swat and Mardan.

They said that former prime minister Imran Khan, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and PTI were responsible for pushing the country towards civil war by inciting the workers to violence. They said the government should take action against perpetrators or else their workers would be forced to take the law into their hands in the same manner and give a quid pro quo response to the PTI.

They said that Imran Khan had been tasked with creating chaos in Pakistan under an international agenda after paralyzing the country economically. The JUIF leaders said the nation had thwarted the international conspiracy. They said that Imran Khan and his followers had gone mad after being ousted from power.

It merits a mention here that the PTI workers took to the streets on Sunday night and staged demonstrations across the country. The PTI mobsters surrounded and bullied a religious cleric in Swat. Similarly, in Mardan, a cleric was stopped, allegedly beaten up and his car was damaged.