ISLAMABAD: Religious scholars belonging to various schools of thought have condemned the rape of a girl in a seminary in Rawalpindi and demanded that perpetrators of such heinous crimes should be given punishment in public through speedy trial.

In a joint declaration issued after attending a consultative meeting held under the aegis of the Pakistan Ulema Council on Sunday, they lamented rising incidents of child abuse and women harassment in Pakistan and said the prime minister and chief justice of Pakistan should take immediate action against the culprits and order their speedy trials.

They urged the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and Ministry of Information to block porn websites and pornographic and nude content and advertisements on social media.

Special Representative to the PM on Interfaith Harmony Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi presided over the meeting.

Call for blocking of porn websites

The joint declaration said that all sections of society must play their role to save the morality of Pakistani society. The rules of Sharia are clear for both men and women. It is obligatory on both men and women to cover themselves properly and avoid obscenity and nudity. Sharia does not allow a man to touch or harass a woman, the declaration said.

The joint declaration said that the rising incidents of abuse and harassment of boys and girls and the state of fear and intimidation prevailing among women demand from all sections of the society, especially the government and judiciary, to ban and close all such sources responsible for spreading obscenity and nudity in the society.

Maulana Asad Zakaria Qasmi, Syed Ziaullah Shah Bukhari, Maulana Mufti Mohammad Zia Madani, Allama Arif Wahidi, Allama Abdul Haq Mujahid, Maulana Mohammad Khan Leghari, Maulana Mufti Mohammad Ali Naqshbandi, Maulana Mufti Abdul Sattar, Maulana Abdul Wahab Rupari, Maulana Pir Asadullah Farooq, Maulana Pir Asad Habib Shah Jamali, Maulana Mohammad Shafi Qasmi, Maulana Anwar-ul-Haq Mujahid, Mufti Hafeez-ur-Rehman, Maulana Hussain Ahmad, Maulana Qasim Qasmi and others religious scholars attended the meeting.

They urged the government, the judiciary and all sections of society to play an immediate role at their respective levels for the restoration of social and moral values.

They called for strict action on the instances of Minar-i-Pakistan, the Noor Mukadam case, harassment of women in a rickshaw in Lahore, madressahs and schools or colleges and punishment for the culprits.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2021