JI demands an ‘Islamic Pakistan’ on Pakistan Day
Holds event that called for creation of an independent state for Muslims of the Indian subcontinent.
JI chief Syed Munawwar Hasan. PHOTO: NNI
KARACHI:
The Demand for an 'Islamic Pakistan' was the hallmark of the Tahaffuz-e-Pakistan convention organised by the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) at Nishtar Park on Sunday.
Thousands of people, waving the national and the political party's flags, gathered at the venue in order to attend the event, which coincided with Pakistan Day, that had called for the creation of an independent state for the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent.
"Despite a myriad of experiments involving democracy and dictatorships during the last 65 years, we have failed to honour our pledge to God and the people for the creation of an Islamic state," said JI chief Syed Munawar Hasan as he addressed the participants. "This pledge was the emblem for the struggle and acquisition of the independent state for which thousands of people sacrificed their lives."
Hasan was of the opinion that if estranged groups had taken up arms against the government with demands for the implementation of Shariat in the country, the governments during the last 65 years should be held responsible, for they had merely played with all the Islamic provisions of the Constitution.
Chief of the party's Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa province and a key player in the Taliban negotiating team, Professor Muhammad Ibrahim said that those calling for a military operation against the Taliban wanted to destabilise the country. "Their demands are against the national consensus and all political parties want to initiate peace talks with the Taliban," he said. "Dialogue is the only way out of our present crisis and the proponents of a military operation should ask the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa what calamities an operation brings to the people."
JI Karachi chief, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, said that the so-called politics of rights in Karachi has engulfed the lives of around 40,000 people. "The city of lights that never used to sleep was plunged into darkness with the rise of urban feudal lords who took the city and its inhabitants as hostages," he said. "Karachi's citizens will have to be brave to free themselves from the yoke of the urban feudal lords who present themselves as the saviours of the Urdu-speaking people."
Speaking about the significance of Pakistan Day, Rehman asserted that an Islamic state was the only reason behind one of the greatest human migrations in modern history. From the stage, activists of the Shabab-e-Milli Pakistan, the party's youth wing, presented a play, depicting dramatic changes in the country's socio-economic conditions in 2025, after an Islamic revolution. The performance received much appreciation from the audience who cheered, clapped and raised slogans for an 'Islamic revolution'. At the JI Social Media Cell, established adjacent to the central stage by stretching a marquee, around 50 youngsters were busy updating Facebook pages and sending live tweets of the event on their laptops.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 24th, 2014.
The Demand for an 'Islamic Pakistan' was the hallmark of the Tahaffuz-e-Pakistan convention organised by the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) at Nishtar Park on Sunday.
Thousands of people, waving the national and the political party's flags, gathered at the venue in order to attend the event, which coincided with Pakistan Day, that had called for the creation of an independent state for the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent.
"Despite a myriad of experiments involving democracy and dictatorships during the last 65 years, we have failed to honour our pledge to God and the people for the creation of an Islamic state," said JI chief Syed Munawar Hasan as he addressed the participants. "This pledge was the emblem for the struggle and acquisition of the independent state for which thousands of people sacrificed their lives."
Hasan was of the opinion that if estranged groups had taken up arms against the government with demands for the implementation of Shariat in the country, the governments during the last 65 years should be held responsible, for they had merely played with all the Islamic provisions of the Constitution.
Chief of the party's Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa province and a key player in the Taliban negotiating team, Professor Muhammad Ibrahim said that those calling for a military operation against the Taliban wanted to destabilise the country. "Their demands are against the national consensus and all political parties want to initiate peace talks with the Taliban," he said. "Dialogue is the only way out of our present crisis and the proponents of a military operation should ask the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa what calamities an operation brings to the people."
JI Karachi chief, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, said that the so-called politics of rights in Karachi has engulfed the lives of around 40,000 people. "The city of lights that never used to sleep was plunged into darkness with the rise of urban feudal lords who took the city and its inhabitants as hostages," he said. "Karachi's citizens will have to be brave to free themselves from the yoke of the urban feudal lords who present themselves as the saviours of the Urdu-speaking people."
Speaking about the significance of Pakistan Day, Rehman asserted that an Islamic state was the only reason behind one of the greatest human migrations in modern history. From the stage, activists of the Shabab-e-Milli Pakistan, the party's youth wing, presented a play, depicting dramatic changes in the country's socio-economic conditions in 2025, after an Islamic revolution. The performance received much appreciation from the audience who cheered, clapped and raised slogans for an 'Islamic revolution'. At the JI Social Media Cell, established adjacent to the central stage by stretching a marquee, around 50 youngsters were busy updating Facebook pages and sending live tweets of the event on their laptops.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 24th, 2014.