Countrywide protests held on Ulema’s call Violent incidents in Lahore, Karachi, Hyderabad

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: On appeal of religious parties including the Sunni Tehreek and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), protest day was observed all over the country against execution of Mumtaz Qadri, who was hanged at Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi earlier this week.

Like other parts of the country, the leadership of the JI, Sunni Tehreek, Jamaatud Dawa and other religious groups took out protest rallies and demonstrations in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad after Jumma prayers.

The routine traffic remained suspended on main roads and highways, particularly on Murree Road, and Islamabad during and after Jumma prayers.

The JI central naib ameer Mian Muhammad Aslam led a protest demonstration outside Lal Masjid in Islamabad. The protest rally, attended by a large number of faithful, was also addressed by the JI Islamabad ameer Zubair Farooq Khan, Maulana Zahoor Alvi and others.

The Sunni Tehreek on appeal of top leader Sarwat Ejaz Qadri orgaianised protest rallies in Bahra Kahu, Sadiqabad Chowk and other parts of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Liaquat Rizvi, Tahir Iqbal Chishti and others addressed protestors.

Religious parties also staged rallies in various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In the provincial capital, the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat brought out a procession. Led by Ismail Darwesh and Tariq Haideri, the procession was taken out from Kohati, which reached Qissa Khwani.

The JI also held a reference at Masjid Mahabat Khan where Prof Mohammad Ibrahim and others addressed the participants. The JI chief Sirajul Haq had also announced holding protests on daily basis. He himself led funeral prayers in absentia for Mumtaz Qadri in Peshawar recently.

In Charsadda, the activists of various religio-political parties took out rallies and staged protests. The protesters gathered at the Farooq-e-Azam Chowk. People from various walks of life staged a protest in Nowshera and Chakdarra and Mansehra. Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat staged protest rallies in Mohmand Agency. The protesters blocked the main road for traffic for two hours in Ghallanai, main town of Mohmand Agency. 

Meanwhile, the angry protesters attacked Hyderabad press club building. The protesters vandalised shops in Karachi’s electronics market while a police station was attacked during a rally in Lahore Lower Mall area. The protesters pelted the office of Aaj TV with stones and damaged vehicles parked outside the office in Karachi.

In Lahore, three main rallies were taken out from Data Darbar to Punjab Assembly by Sunni Tehreek, Idara Sirat Mustaqeem and Tahaffuz Namoos Risalat Mahaz, which peacefully dispersed after turning into public meetings. Several other rallies were held in different areas, one by JI at Wahdat Road, Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan at Gulberg, and Sunni Ittehad Council at Shadbagh. Besides, Almi Majlis Khatm-e-Nabuwwat and some small groups staged demonstrations outside Press Club and Data Darbar.

Some youth joining in the rallies tore down banners of the ruling party leaders besides hitting the closed shutters of shops and showrooms with batons and sticks. They also tried to bang the iron gates of Aaj TV channel on the Mall Road but luckily the religious workers came to the rescue of the media men and removed the troublemakers.

The workers of the religious parties armed with batons guarded the shops and caught some of the troublemakers. The leaders kept appealing the workers to remain peaceful and catch the troublemakers who had mixed with the rallies.

In Multan, the District Bar Association staged a demonstration while Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat and Sunni Tehreek took out rallies.

In Gujranwala, protesters belonging to Sunni Tehreek, Jamaat Ahle Sunnat, JI and other religious parties blocked GT Road for several hours.

In Kasur, Naat Khawan Council, ATI and other religious parties took out a rally from Bhassarpura up to Railway Station Chowk. In Jaranwala, Fateha and Ghaibana Namaz-e-Janaza of Mumtaz Qadri were offered in different mosques.

Meanwhile, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said hanging of Mumtaz Qadri has united the Deobandis and Bralvi sects and there is no sectarian rift between different schools of thoughts.

Talking to media in Parliament House, the JUI-F chief said religious parties are also against torture on women but the recent bill of women protection was against the spirit of Islamic teachings and the Constitution. 

“We have foiled efforts for changes in blasphemy law during the PPP tenure,” Fazl said, adding that Pakistan is an independent sovereign country. “Why other countries want to impose their laws on an Islamic country,” he questioned.