12 July 2004	Monday	23 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

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ISLAMABAD, July 11: Prime Minister Chaudhy Shujaat Hussain said on Sunday that amendments to Hudood laws had been referred to the Council of Islamic Ideology which would be presented to the Cabinet after incorporating the input of Ulema and Mashaikh.

Speaking at an Ulema and Mashaikh Convention at the Prime Minister Secretariat, the prime minister said the laws dealing with the use of loudspeakers would also be finalized in consultation with ulema.

He urged Ulema and Mashaikh to join hands with the government in making the country strong, prosperous and a real Islamic country, reflecting the true Islamic teachings of enlightenment and moderation.

The prime minister said that the government would continue to seek guidance from religious scholars to formulate a comprehensive strategy dealing with challenges confronting the Muslim Ummah.

He said he would like to have another meeting with the Ulema in near future to seek their concrete and practical suggestions in dealing with numerous issues confronting the country.

He said he had always advised President General Pervez Musharraf that there was a need by the West to understand the root causes of terrorism. He said injustices against Muslims needed to be brought to an end so that the world may live in peace.

He said Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance, and dispelled the impression by the West that it had something to do with intolerance and extremism. Mr Shujaat said his government desired to formulate a strategy which served as a beacon of light for the rest.

He said a law against those levelling baseless allegations and making false claims needed to be prepared to rid the country of those who tried to create rift by such statements. He sought the help of religious scholars in framing the law. He said he believed there should be no hypocrisy in dealing with government affairs.

Mr Shujaat said since he had served as an interior minister, he knew well that no Madressahs (seminaries) were ever found involved in any act of terrorism in the country.

He said visa rules would be relaxed for young foreign students between the age of 7 to 12 seeking admissions to seminaries, while the rest would have to fulfil necessary visa requirements if they wished to study in any of these religious schools in the country.-APP

The prime minister said the government and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) had mutually agreed to end the misuse of loudspeakers and legislation in this connection would soon be finalized in consultations with the CII, Ahmad Hassan adds.

Referring to the Western propaganda against the Muslim Ummah linking it with terrorism the premier stressed the need for chalking out a clear strategy for implementation to combat this bias against the Muslims.

He said President Musharraf had clearly and forcefully advocated the case of religious institutions on all world forums which needed to be commended by the nation. Mr Shujaat said that the president's decision to side with the US in its war against Afghanistan though painful was taken in the "larger interest" of Pakistan which he as the PML president had endorsed.

He asked ulema and the Mashaikh to take upon themselves the role of preachers of true Islam and confront those elements who were bringing a bad name to our sacred religion.

"We declare from this platform that we have no relation with those misguided elements who are serving no purpose either of Islam or of the Muslim world and are tarnishing the image of Islam."

Speaking on the occasion, PML Secretary-General Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said there would be no compromise on country's national interests and Islam would be the guiding principle in all decisions. Others who spoke on the occasion were: Sahibzada Pir Syed Atiqur Rehman, Mohammad Hanif Jalandhari and Majeedur Rehman Shami.