21st Amendment: Govt sowed seeds of hatred, says Siraj

Government instead of targeting terrorists of all shades is going after madrassas and religious institutions, says Haq

LAHORE:

Jamaat e Islami Ameer Sirajul Haq has said the government has sown the seeds of hatred and reaction by targeting religious elements in particular.

He said that following the barbaric attack on Army Public School in Peshawar, the government instead of targeting terrorists of all shades was going after madrassas and religious institutions.

The recently introduced 21st Amendment in the Constitution has opened the door for terrorists to kill as many people as they liked only if they were wearing trousers and shirts and not shalwar and kameez, and they won’t be called terrorists, the JI ameer said.

“The amendment had given licence to kill to everybody who is not sporting a beard and is not wearing a prayer cap,” he added.

Addressing the JI central Shoora at Mansoora on Thursday, he said that the government attitude regarding religion was also most deplorable. He demanded removal of the words ‘religion’ and ‘sect’ from the amendment.

Sirajul Haq said that civil war and conflicts were going on in as many as 13 Muslim countries. By closing the doors of democracy, the people had been driven to the gun.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2015.