LONDON: Britain’s anti-EU UK Independence Party says it will promote social unity by banning face-covering veils and barring the opening of new Islamic schools.

The right-wing party on Monday unveiled what it calls an “integration agenda” ahead of Britain’s June 8 election.

It includes bans on Sharia law and on wearing face-covering veils in public, and a call for the prosecution of parents of girls subjected to female genital mutilation.

Whittle also said there should be a moratorium on Islamic faith schools “until there is far better integration of the entire Muslim community.” Green Party lawmaker Caroline Lucas accused UKIP of “full-throttled Islamophobia.” UKIP played a major role in Britain’s decision last year to leave the EU but is struggling to remain relevant now that it has achieved its main goal.

UKIP’s only lawmaker in the House of Commons recently quit the party. UKIP leader Paul Nuttall has so far declined to say whether he will run for Parliament in June’s election.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2017

Opinion

Editorial

Under siege
Updated 03 May, 2024

Under siege

Whether through direct censorship, withholding advertising, harassment or violence, the press in Pakistan navigates a hazardous terrain.
Meddlesome ways
03 May, 2024

Meddlesome ways

AFTER this week’s proceedings in the so-called ‘meddling case’, it appears that the majority of judges...
Mass transit mess
03 May, 2024

Mass transit mess

THAT Karachi — one of the world’s largest megacities — does not have a mass transit system worth the name is ...
Punishing evaders
02 May, 2024

Punishing evaders

THE FBR’s decision to block mobile phone connections of more than half a million individuals who did not file...
Engaging Riyadh
Updated 02 May, 2024

Engaging Riyadh

It must be stressed that to pull in maximum foreign investment, a climate of domestic political stability is crucial.
Freedom to question
02 May, 2024

Freedom to question

WITH frequently suspended freedoms, increasing violence and few to speak out for the oppressed, it is unlikely that...