HYDERABAD: Rep­resen­­tatives of several religious organisations announced on Tuesday organising a peace march from Mirpurkhas to Umerkot on Oct 3 and urged Sindh government to form a fact-finding committee to get to the bottom of Umerkot blasphemy incident and its aftermath.

Speaking at a news conference at local press club, Ittehad Ahl-i-Sunnat Pakistan leader Gulshan Illahi, Jamaat Ahl-i-Sunnat Pakistan Hyderabad president Ahmed Ali Saeedi, Pakistan Sunni Tehreek Sindh president Imran Soharwardy, Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan leader Karamat Rajput and others said that the march, which was named ‘Tajdar-i-khatm-i-nabuwwat aur istehkam-i-Pakistan peace march’ would be led and attended by top religious leaders.

They said that Sindh was a land of place, love and brotherhood and its peace was being destroyed under a conspiracy. Instead of controlling the situation provocative statements were being issued against religion and religious leaders, they lamented.

They urged Sindh government to form a fact-finding committee comprising religious leaders, civil society representatives, writers and intellectuals in line with Constitution to probe the Umerkot incident and said that action should be taken in the light of report of this committee.

Plan peace march from Mirpurkhas to Umerkot on Thursday

They claimed that there were videos found on Dr Shahnawaz’s cell phone, which had blasphemous content. Statement of Dr Shahnawaz’s parents in this connection was also on record, he said.

They said that instead of taking action against him through legal means he was described as a patient suffering from psychological issues.

They condemned registration of FIR against police officers on the basis of a unilateral inquiry. If something illegal was done then it should be got investigated through a judicial commission, they said.

They said that taking advantage of the situation some elements were ridiculing Islam and issuing provocative statements but no action was being taken against them.

They said the peace march would be staged from Mirpurkhas to Umerkot on Oct 3.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2024