TIMERGARA: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Senator Sirajul Haq has said that Muslims are not terrorists but Muslim rulers throughout the world are exploiting common citizens.

Addressing a party meeting a seminary in Munda tehsil here on Thursday, he said that world powers began to torture Muslim prayer leaders and defame religious seminaries whenever there occurred an act of terrorism in any part of the world.

The JI chief said that Dec 16 would always be remembered for tragic incidents of ‘the fall of Dhaka’ and Army Public School, Peshawar carnage.

He said nearly 10,000 JI activists had rendered sacrifices against Indian aggression in 1971 but later Pakistan rulers forgot them.

Asks govt to raise issue of JI activists’ execution in Bangladesh at world forum

He said that so far 25 leaders of JI had been executed in Bangladesh for backing Pakistan in 1971 war. He said that government had kept criminal silence on execution of JI activists in Bangladesh.

He demanded of the government to raise issue of JI activists’ execution at world forum.

Terming APS tragedy a barbaric act, the JI chief said that the incident united the nation. He said that Muslims were not terrorists but Muslim rulers were exploiting common citizens throughout the world.

Mr Siraj also came down hard on Election Commission of Pakistan for its failure to notify the successful candidate in by-elections in PK-95 constituency. He said that Islam had not only defined rights of women but also guaranteed the same.

“A few national and international NGOs are raising hue and cry just for their personal interests,” the JI chief said, adding that those elements wanted to secularise Pakistani society against the will of people.

The meeting was also addressed by JI Lower Dir emir Izazul Mulk Afkari, MNA Sahibzada Yaqub Khan, Munda tehsil nazim Humayun Khan and others.

SPECIAL CHILDREN: Speakers at a function here on Thursday said that civil society and government departments should work jointly for educating persons with disabilities.

The function was arranged by Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD), a Muslim American-funded organisation, at Timergara Rest House.

HHRD country director Fazal Rehman, commandant of Dir Task Force Col Khalid Shafi, MNA Sahibzada Yaqub Khan, MPA Saeed Gul, Deputy Commissioner Irfanullah Wazir, district nazim Haji Mohammad Rasool Khan and director of Paraplegic Centre Hayatabad Peshawar Dr Ilyas Syed spoke on the occasion.

They said that persons with disabilities needed extra attention of all segments of society and the state.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2015