What’s in a (soft) drink?

LAHORE: This is with reference to Yaqoob Bangash’s article of February 21 titled “What’s in a (soft) drink?”. The relatively newly-formed Khatme Nabuwwat Lawyers Forum (KNLF) is behind the apparent ban on Shezan drinks and juices from the premises of the Lahore’s courts. The Forum has done this reportedly because the owners of the company that produces the beverages are said to be Ahmadi. It should be clarified, at the outset, that the chief executive and finance manager along with several other employees of the company do not belong to the Ahmadi community.

Now let’s consider the KNLF. Why is it involving itself in such matters? Shouldn’t its lawyers be more concerned with their cases and the application and interpretation of laws? Do not these lawyers of the Forum also know that the Constitution of Pakistan gives every citizen of this country the right to carry on his or her business free from racial, religious or ethnic prejudice? Who has given the KNLF the authority to ban products from the premises of the courts of Lahore on the basis of faith, or for any other reason for that matter?

Do not these lawyers use products of daily use that are made by companies owned by non-Muslims? Why are these lawyers so bent upon enforcing their personal views and beliefs on others? Why aren’t other members of the Lahore Bar Association speaking out on this issue? What is the guarantee that the KNLF will not in the near future push for a ban of all products made by companies owned by Hindus, Sikhs or Christians?

ST Hussain

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd, 2012.