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

Defining extremism
Updated 18 Mar, 2024

Defining extremism

Redefining extremism may well be the first step to clamping down on advocacy for Palestine.
Climate in focus
18 Mar, 2024

Climate in focus

IN a welcome order by the Supreme Court, the new government has been tasked with providing a report on actions taken...
Growing rabies concern
18 Mar, 2024

Growing rabies concern

DOG-BITE is an old problem in Pakistan. Amid a surfeit of public health challenges, rabies now seems poised to ...
Provincial share
Updated 17 Mar, 2024

Provincial share

PPP has aptly advised Centre to worry about improving its tax collection rather than eying provinces’ share of tax revenues.
X-communication
17 Mar, 2024

X-communication

IT has now been a month since Pakistani authorities decided that the country must be cut off from one of the...
Stateless humanity
17 Mar, 2024

Stateless humanity

THE endless hostility between India and Pakistan has reduced prisoners to mere statistics. Although the two ...