Rawalpindi incident: JUI-S calls for countrywide strike on Friday

Demonstration to be held on The Mall in front of Masjid-i-Shuhada.

LAHORE:

The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Sami), via the Sunni Wahdatul Muslimeen (SWM), has demanded that the police arrest those responsible for the law and order disturbance in Rawalpindi on Muharram 10, including the licensee for the mourning procession and the team of volunteers on security duty for the procession.

In a press statement issued by the JUI-S on Tuesday, the SWM on behalf of 300 religious leaders, heads of seminaries, prayer leaders, and muftis called for a countrywide strike on Friday to condemn the incident. The SWM central general council, at a meeting here, announced that a demonstration would be held on The Mall in front of Masjid-i-Shuhada.

The situation in Rawalpindi remains tense, four days after riots erupted in the Rawal Town area following clashes between Sunni and Shia groups. At least 11 people were killed in the riots, which later spread to other cities.



SWM leader Allama Muhammad Younas Hassan alleged that the local administration had colluded with the rioters in Rawalpindi, which was “why the police and Rangers personnel fled the place”.

He alleged that attacks on Ahle Sunnat Waljamat (ASWJ) and Deobandi seminaries from Karachi to Rawalpindi were the result of a conspiracy. He accused the government of taking the side of Shias against the ASWJ.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2013.