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| March 5, 2006 | Sunday | Safar 4, 1427 |
Pervaiz leads rally outside assembly
LAHORE, March 4: The treasury and opposition benches in the Punjab Assembly on Saturday jointly staged a rally to condemn the publication of sacrilegious caricatures of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) in European newspapers.
Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi led the protest rally outside the assembly. The rally did not come out of the assembly premises in view of ban on rallies on the Mall.
The MPAs chanted slogans and pledged that the dignity and respect for the worthy Prophet (peace be upon him) would be safeguarded at any cost.
The opposition members, led by Qasim Zia and Rana Sanaullah, however, marched to the Mall and returned.
Earlier, the assembly unanimously adopted a resolution to condemn the caricatures as well as violence in Lahore on Feb 14.
The resolution, moved by the chief minister, took exception to the so-called freedom of press and described the publications as a criminal violation of time-honoured principles of civilisation and ethical values.
The resolution observed that the Danish and other European countries’ newspapers had committed a grave crime against humanity by hurting the feelings of Muslims under a premeditated scheme.
It said the house was of the view that by staging a protest against this despicable act, people of different areas of the country had discharged their national and religious obligation. The house also expressed solidarity with the Muslim Ummah over the issue.
The Punjab Assembly also demanded that the governments of the countries concerned should apologize to Muslims and take strict action against the caricaturists.
The resolution also expressed determination to continue the efforts for highlighting the sentiments of the people of Pakistan at diplomatic and international level. The house also vowed that all-out support would be extended at every level to ensure that dignity and respect of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) would be safeguarded. The resolution lashed violence and vandalism under the garb of protest as well.
Talking to newsmen, the chief minister said the joint protest had sent a message to the world that the blasphemous sketches had hurt the feelings of all the Muslims and the whole nation stood united over this issue.
Earlier, speaking at the floor of the assembly, Mr Pervaiz Elahi said the Muslims had every right to hold peaceful protests. He said the respect for the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) is an article of faith of Muslims of all schools of thought. However, the protests should be organised peacefully.
The CM said resorting to violence on the pretext of protest amounted to treachery to the religion. He said some elements had tried to gain political mileage through this religious issue and resorted to destruction as well as set the assembly building on fire, which did not convey good impression and rather spoil the cause of Muslims.
He said President Gen Pervez Musharraf was making sincere efforts to highlight the stance of Muslims over the issue at international level. The government, he said, had also summoned the Danish ambassador and registered a strong protest.
He said the Human Rights Commission of UNO had been conveyed the anxiety and anguish of the Muslims while the OIC secretary-general had also been called upon to raise this issue at international level.
Reiterating that people should not destroy public and private property, he said the motorcycles which were burnt during the violent agitation on Feb 14 belonged to very poor people. He said the government had, however, compensated them.
In response to a point of order from opposition members, the chief minister said no innocent person would be detained even for a single day.
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