Speaking out: ‘Stop patronising terrorists or be ready for violence’

Barelvi clerics condemn govt for backing an organisation attacking religious scholars.

LAHORE:

A number of Barelvi clerics on Saturday warned the government to stop patronising terrorist and extremist organisations or else they too would resort to use of force.

“Target killing and suicide bombing incidents have continued because the sponsors and supporters of these occupy senior positions in government,” said Dr Raghib Naeemi. He was speaking at a seminar organised at Jamia Naeemia to mark the death anniversary of Mufti Muhammad Hussain Naeemi.

Raghib Naeemi said that the government’s failure to take action against terrorist outfits had forced a section of the citizens to stand up and reject democracy and democratic governance.

He demanded that the government openly denounce all organisations banned for terrorist and extremist activities. He said the rulers needed to act reasonably if they did not want to compromise the integrity of the country.

Other speakers condemned the government for victimising Sunni (Barelvi) scholars. They said if the government took no action against those sponsoring  terrorist attacks directed at Sunni Scholars, they too would resort to use of force against the terrorists as well as their ‘patrons’ in the government.

They said the government was supporting a banned outfit that had a record of targeting Sunni scholars and places of worship.

They said some of the terrorists involved in the killing of Dr Sarfaraz Naeemi had been arrested but the government had refrained from making the arrests public. This, they feared, was meant to leave the government room to release them without facing an uproar.

They regretted that prayers at a majority of mosques in cantonments were led by clerics who had a history of preaching hatred towards Ahle Sunnat (barelvi). They alleged that these clerics continued to spread hatred.

Mufti Muneebur Rehman said it was high time the government identified the hundreds of Raymond Davises operating in the country and took them to task.

He said he had no objection to the judicial commission formed for an inquiry into Davis case. However, he said, it should have had sitting judges and not retired ones. Rehman criticised the interior minister for saying that he was aware of the exact number of suicide bombers in the country.

He said if the interior minister (Rehman Malik) was so well informed, he might as well do the country a favour by getting these terrorists arrested.

He said the solidarity of the country had been endangered by the government’s failure to enforce law and order.

Jamiat Ulema Pakistan president Abul Khair Zubair said terrorism was bound to flourish when the rulers were themselves patronising the terrorist organisations. Action against these outfits, he said, would only be successful if it was preceded by a crackdown on their supporters in the government’s ranks.

Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz’s MNA Capt (r) Safdar Mahmood said Sunni (Barelvi) leaders had supported the establishment of Pakistan and were active in the Pakistan Movement while most deobandi leaders had opposed the idea. He said their followers were still working to destabilise of the country. He said Deobandi leaders had backed the Musharraf government in its actions.

Talking about Davis’s release, Safdar said he would resign from his national assembly seat if someone could prove that PML-N had a role in his release.

Other speakers at the occasion were Azad Kashmir minister for religious affairs Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Jamiat Ulema Pakistan General Secretary Qari Zawar Bahadur and PML-N MNA Khawaja Saad Rafique.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2011.