HYDERABAD: Leaders, activists and supporters of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) took out rallies and demonstrations after Juma prayers in almost all cities and towns of Sindh to condemn the bomb attack, earlier in the day, apparently targeted at Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, a senior party leader who is deputy chairman of the Senate.

In Hyderabad, a large number of JUI-F activists and supporters took out several rallies and converged on the local press club. Speaking to them, Abdul Razzaq Abid Lakho, Hafiz Khalid Hussain Dhamrah and Hafiz Azam Jehangiri said that the attack was the latest of a number of such acts of terrorism targeted against their party leadership in the past. “They are aimed at vitiating peace in the country,” they said.

SUKKUR: Sindh JUI-F general secretary Maulana Rashid Mehmood Soomro, in a statement issued here on Friday, condemned the attack and criticised the federal government for not heeding the party’s repeated calls for the provision of a bullet-proof car to Maulana Haideri. He blamed the attack on the government’s inefficiency.

He announced Sindh-wide protest against the attack on the JUI-F convoy on Saturday.

Condemning the government’s indifferent attitude, he recalled that three murderous attacks had already been made against JUI-F president Maulana Fazlur Rahman in the past. None of the culprits could be arrested and taken to task yet, he regretted.

Maulana Soomro said the Balochistan government had also failed to ensure peace and maintain law and order in the province.

Meanwhile, Maulana Saud Afzal Halejvi, Maulana Mohammed Sualeh Indhar, Mufti Azam Mahar, Maulana Ubedullah Bhutto and others led a rally of party workers and supporters in Sukkur on Friday.

The participants started their march from Madressah Manzil Gah and converged on the local press club, where they held a sit-in.

A similar rally taken out in Mirpur Mathelo town of Ghotki district was led by Maulana Mohammed Ishaq Leghari, Maulana Abdul Ghaffar Chachar and others.

MIRPURKHAS: The JUI-F district chapter held an emergency meeting here on Friday to condemn the Mastung attack on the convoy carrying Maulana Haideri and several other party leaders.

The meeting was chaired by the party’s district chief Maulana Hafeezur Rehman Faiz.

Maulana Faiz and other leaders including Mufti Adil Lateef, Maulana Hussain Ahmed Qalandrani, Maulana Mazhar Buledi and Qari Abdul Khalique Mengal expressed their serious concern over security of JUI-F leadership and attributed the attack to enemies of Islam and Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2017