Malik’s writing skills come under attack
Interior minister told to redraft letter to Interpol.
ISLAMABAD:
Interior Minister Rehman Malik faced hostility in the Senate on Monday for the wording of a letter he wrote to Interpol asking for action against American pastor Terry Jones for desecrating the Holy Quran.
On a point of order, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s Senator Ishaq Dar pointed out that in the letter, Jones was referred to as a reverend when he was merely a pastor.
Secondly, he said that the letter mentioned a “holy book of the Prophet” (pbuh), whereas all holy books came from Allah and not from any prophet.
Dar also took issue with a statement in the letter that acts like the desecration of the Holy Quran would fuel extremism in the Muslim world, when it was the sentiments of all Muslims that had been hurt, he said.
“Whoever wrote this letter is either an idiot with little conscience or does not know English,” he said and demanded that the interior minister rewrite the letter.
Malik urged Senate Chairman Farooq H Naek to expunge the word “idiot” from the record, but the chair did not do so.
The minister said he too had been hurt by the American pastor’s action, and a follow-up letter, “more strongly worded”, had been sent to Interpol. He said that a separate letter would be sent to the US government demanding action against Jones and also that it prevent such blasphemous acts.
The chair expressed irritation at the interior minister for repeatedly stating that the Interpol secretary had told him that the international security agency did not entertain cases based on religion.
The chair asked the interior minister to send another letter “with the correct wording”. Malik invited Dar to draft the letter.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 29th, 2011.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik faced hostility in the Senate on Monday for the wording of a letter he wrote to Interpol asking for action against American pastor Terry Jones for desecrating the Holy Quran.
On a point of order, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s Senator Ishaq Dar pointed out that in the letter, Jones was referred to as a reverend when he was merely a pastor.
Secondly, he said that the letter mentioned a “holy book of the Prophet” (pbuh), whereas all holy books came from Allah and not from any prophet.
Dar also took issue with a statement in the letter that acts like the desecration of the Holy Quran would fuel extremism in the Muslim world, when it was the sentiments of all Muslims that had been hurt, he said.
“Whoever wrote this letter is either an idiot with little conscience or does not know English,” he said and demanded that the interior minister rewrite the letter.
Malik urged Senate Chairman Farooq H Naek to expunge the word “idiot” from the record, but the chair did not do so.
The minister said he too had been hurt by the American pastor’s action, and a follow-up letter, “more strongly worded”, had been sent to Interpol. He said that a separate letter would be sent to the US government demanding action against Jones and also that it prevent such blasphemous acts.
The chair expressed irritation at the interior minister for repeatedly stating that the Interpol secretary had told him that the international security agency did not entertain cases based on religion.
The chair asked the interior minister to send another letter “with the correct wording”. Malik invited Dar to draft the letter.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 29th, 2011.