The MQM chief was addressing a number of religious clerics and scholars at an inter-faith harmony event organised at the Lal Qila ground on Tuesday. He lashed out at the Pakistan Peoples Party-led Sindh government for their 'indifferent attitude' towards the timber market incident. "The chief minister has yet to visit the scene, and not even a sympathy statement came from the former president, Asif Ali Zardari."
Speak out
Altaf said that the Taliban should be openly condemned and it was time they were openly called the Taliban. "Taliban should be called by their names. They are not Muslims." Terming the Taliban hypocrites, he said that people were hesitant to call them terrorist. "Should we not call Taliban terrorists? They are in fact not Taliban but Zalimaan."
Responding to him, one of the ulema said that the terrorists were barbaric, and called for the arrest of Maulana Abdul Aziz, adding that Jamia Hafsa should be vacated. "The Taliban are those who have slaughtered children, blown up imambargahs and masjids,' said Altaf, calling for people to raise their voice against them.
The MQM chief said that the followers of one religion were being divided. He asked the ulema not to issue fatwas against one another and stressed for unity among all faiths. On the occasion, the MQM chief praised the army chief, Raheel Sharif and called him as a brave man. He said that the army was playing its role to eliminate terrorists and carrying out an operation against them.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 31st, 2014.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ