Jamatud Dawa (JuD), has even set up “Darul Qaza Sharia” in Lahore to dispense “justice” among people in light of Sharia laws. These are very interesting developments in Pakistan, which are taking place when the army has launched its operation against extremists in Punjab after the Gulshan -e- Iqbal park terror attack.
When the Lahore attack occurred, which claimed more than 73 lives and injured more than 300, a number of religious groups and parties associated with Barelvi traditions were observing Mumtaz Qadri’s chehlum at Liaquat Bagh. The speakers, including Sarwat Qadri of the Sunni Tehreek, called on participants to march towards Islamabad. The protestors not only marched, but also damaged many buildings, causing losses of millions of rupees to the state. After that they held D-Chowk protest sit-ins against the PML-N government’s religious policies and also released a set of 10 demands to the media. Issued under the banner of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool (SAW), the statement claimed that Pakistan’s Islamic identity was being threatened and that an agenda to secularise Pakistan is rapidly taking shape. The demands included the unconditional release of all Sunni clerics and leaders booked on various charges, including terrorism and murder; the recognition of Mumtaz Qadri as a martyr and the conversion of his Adiala Jail cell into a national heritage site; assurances that the blasphemy laws will not be amended; and the removal of Ahmadis and other non-Muslims who had occupied key posts. They also demanded the execution of blasphemy-accused Aasia Bibi, the woman former Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer was killed for defending.
During their sit-in protest, religious leaders used very abusive language against the media, Imran Khan and other political leaders. Their speeches were not only very emotional but also very funny. These speeches really reflect that our religious leaders are past masters in exploiting religious sentiments for achieving their own partisan interests. They ended their protest after a vague “verbal” assurance about consideration of their demands by the government.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Khan, while addressing a press conference, said that there had been a general consensus that the demands of the pro-Qadri protestors, staging a sit-in at D-Chowk, were invalid. “A few individuals were making wrong use of the notion of the finality of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) for personal political gain, and it was decided that the area had to be cleared promptly,” said the interior minister. Addressing those who had gathered at D-Chowk, the interior minister criticised their destruction of public and private property and causing inconvenience to the public as contradictory to the Prophet's (PBUH) example.
The PML-N government, once again, successfully dealt with a capital sit-in. Before that sit-in, the PML-N government had handled Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri sit-ins expertly in D-Chowk. It also exposed the true nature and intention of the Barelvi leaders, like Maulvi Hanif Qureshi (the man who had already submitted an affidavit to the trial court saying “he didn’t ‘know any Mumtaz Qadri’ after he had been accused of radicalising him”, Sarwat Ijaz Qadri (the leader of the Karachi-based Sunni Tehreek. According to reports, the Rangers are also targeting those Sunni Tehreek members who are involved in anti-state activities in Karachi), Multan-based cleric Hamid Kazmi, a former minister in the last PPP government who was also involved in the Haj scandal. These leaders have shown their power of followers to the government. Although normality has returned, there is no doubt about it the Barelvi leaders will use Qadri’s execution for promoting their own partisan interests in future.
Then, the Nizam-e-Mustafa Conference was held on last Saturday in Lahore. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman, Jamaat ud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami chief Maulana Samiul Haq, JU chief Dr. Abul Khair Zubair as well as Prof. Sajid Mir, and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq addressed the conference. They resolved to launch a movement against anti-Islamic moves of the government, corrupt elite and to protect Islamic rites and family system till enforcement of Nizam-e-Mustafa in the country.
According to reports, “a joint declaration adopted at the moot made it clear that any amendment to the country’s blasphemy laws was unacceptable, and vowed to foil Qadianis’ conspiracies against the concept of the finality of the Prophethood of Holy Prophet (PBUH). The clerics declared the execution of Mumtaz Qadri a judicial murder, condemned the arrest of his supporters, and demanded their immediate release and withdrawal of cases registered against them. The conference termed the government’s Women Protection Act an attack on the Muslim family system, and resolved to bring forth an alternative draft law for this purpose in the light of the Holy Quran and Sunnah. The joint declaration said that under the constitution, any law that violated the Shariah could not have any legal status. The declaration denounced the efforts of a section of media to ridicule Islamic rites, causing provocation, and promoting Indian culture besides obscenity and nudity, and stressed that this tendency must be checked effectively. The moot denounced the government’s propaganda against madrassas and linking them with terrorism. ”
It must be noted that religious parties had launched the Nizam-e-Mustafa movement against Z.A. Bhutto. They supported dictator Zia-ul-Haq and enjoyed a share of power in the Zia era. During this period, they did not try to implement Nizam-e-Mustafa in the country. This time, these parties are once again playing the same religious card.
After the Nizam-e-Mustafa Conference, Jamatud Dawa (JuD) has not taken much time and set up “Darul Qaza Sharia” in Lahore. Dawn reports, “The organisation’s ‘Arbitration Court of Sharia’ has been taking up complaints of citizens approaching it for justice and summoning the ‘defendants’ in person or through a legal counsel with warnings of strict action under the Sharia laws in case of no response. A copy of official JuD summons available with Dawn bears two monograms – Darul Qaza Sharia, Jamatud Dawa Pakistan and Saalsi Sharai Adalat-i-Aalia (Arbitration Court of Sharia). The ‘court’ has been established at the organisation’s headquarters, Jamia Qudsia, Chauburji under a Qazi (judge) who is assisted by Khadmins (court associates) to decide the complaints. The complaints are addressed to the chief of the religious organisation who later refers them to the Qazi for further proceedings. Sources say complainants approach the ‘arbitration court’ in the hope of swift solutions as litigation before conventional courts takes much time especially in civil cases.” Pakistan Bar Council member Azam Nazir Tarar says the “Constitution does not allow any private organisation to use the word ‘court’. The word can be used for the Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court, high courts and all other courts established by a high court only. This is parallel judicial system and against the law of the land,” he maintained in a talk with Dawn.
The establishment of Darul Qaza Sharia in the provincial capital clearly manifests the significant power of religious groups, especially JuD. The government and the military establishment have taken a confusing and contradictory line on the status of organisations such as Jamaat-ud-Dawa and it’s off-shoot, the Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF). PEMRA has banned media channels from covering both organisations. Yet, the organisations are “not banned”. JuD continues to hold rallies, fan extremist views and even mourns the death of the Taliban founder Mullah Omar freely. The government and military should take action against all the religious organisations which are spreading extremism, if they want to show their sincerity and resolve in the Punjab operation. It also shows that Pakistan’s judicial system is not adequate and a section of society is creating its own solutions. No country can afford to have a parallel judicial system. It is duty of the government to shut it down as quickly as possible.
In fact, religious political parties are an important feature of Pakistan’s political system. But, it is also a fact that religious parties are not in a position to get power in elections and form their own government in Pakistan. Dr. Hassan Askari writes about this fact: “All religious political parties advocate an Islamic socio-political and economic order for Pakistan and express varying degrees of reservations on the notion of the ‘Islamic Republic’ as set out in the Constitution of Pakistan. They talk of an Islamic order in broad terms to reflect their aspirations, or discuss its features at a level of abstraction. However, they diverge when it comes to translating the abstract principles or their assertions and pronouncements into a codified constitutional and legal system, institutional arrangements and processes of an Islamic system needed for running a state in the 21st century. They have not been able to produce a shared constitutional and legal document as an alternative to the existing constitutional and legal system.… Religious parties have an image problem. Not many people, particularly the educated, trust religious leaders as having enough political acumen and an understanding of the dynamics of domestic and global politics... With some exceptions, many religious parties either sympathise with militant groups or maintain an ambiguous disposition towards these groups. This alienates a good number of people from these parties. The strength of religious parties lies in having street power of loyal activists and madrassa students. The parties that have links with madrassas and mosques tend to develop more political clout. Some parties have made inroads into government universities and colleges to recruit young people to their fold. The recent use of violence by some religious parties with Barelvi traditions has created a spectre of increased protest and violence. However, the success of their protest depends on their capacity to muster support from other political parties… Religious parties can make life difficult for any government because of their cadres but none can, on their own, come to power through elections”.
Pakistan is passing through very testing times and it is duty of all the religious parties that they should shun their violent politics and present a soft image of Islam, if they want to earn respect and support from the people of Pakistan.
Post a Comment