KARACHI: The outlawed Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) organised rallies in several towns in Sindh to mark the day of martyrdom of Hazrat Usman Ghani on Saturday (18th Zilhaj).

In Karachi, senior AWSJ leader Allama Taj Hanafi led a rally of hundreds of people who started their march from Lasbela Chowk to Guru Mandir, where a congregation was held.

The rally route, a key artery within one of the busiest neighbourhoods of the city, remained blocked for several hours until the congregation ended after sunset. Snarls-up were also witnessed along alternative routes and the roads leading to to the rally route. The situation normalised about an hour after the congregation ended and the huge crowd of participants dispersed.

Another big rally was taken out from Liaquat Colony in Hyderabad, where participants raising religious slogans marched up to the local press club to mark the day.

Allama Abdul Samad Haideri, Mufti Abdul Qayyum Haidri and Syed Asim Ali Shah, who led the rally, spoke to the participants and urged the government to declare the days of martyrdom of all the four caliphs public holidays. They claimed that it was a demand supported by the 98 per cent population of the country.

They also called for stringent measures against communal and sectarian violence, stressing that Islam is a religion based on peace and brotherhood.

The same demand was made at another rally taken out in Badin. Led by local ASWJ leaders Maulana Naseerullah, Maulana Abdul Sattar, Maulana Safdar Siddiqui and Qari Mueebur Rehman, the rally participants held a congregation outside the local press club and highlighted the life and teachings of Hazrat Usman Ghani and other caliphs.

Published in Dawn October 4th, 2015

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