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KARACHI, July 9: The Ferozabad Police on Friday arrested two activists of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) Ayub Ali and Shahid Qureshi when they were returning home after participating in a protest demonstration outside Nauman mosque in Nursery area.
The MMA had given a call for the protest demonstrations outside mosques after Jumma prayers against the ban imposed on use of loudspeakers in Sindh.
A spokesman for the MMA said that organisers of the demonstrations were returning home when SHO PS Ferozabad subjected some of MMA's activists to violence and arrested two of them.
Meanwhile, leaders of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) in a meeting on Thursday night at Idara Noor-e-Haq condemned the ban imposed on loudspeakers in mosques calling it illegal and unconstitutional.
The meeting said mosques played a vital role in training the masses, and deplored that by imposing the ban, the government was creating hurdles in the way. "On one hand, the minister of state hints at upholding Tahaffuz-e-Khatm-e-Nabuwwat, while on the other hand, a ban was imposed on the use of loud speakers in mosques, which people would never tolerate", they said.
They warned the government to refrain from secularising the country and stop appeasing the US. Secretary of MMA Karachi Shaikh Rafiq Ahmed, vice-president Karachi Maulana Khan Muhammad Rabbani, Shabir Ahmed Talib, Hafiz Muhammad Yameen and others attended.
DEMOS: Protest demonstrations were held outside mosques all over the city after Jumma prayers by the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) against government intentions to change blasphemy and Hudood laws, government raids on madaris and arrest of religious students all over the country.
After offering Jumma prayers, protesters carrying banners and placards gathered outside mosques and chanted slogans against government plans to reshape Hudood and blasphemy laws, and its operation against religious elements in the country.
The demonstrations were addressed by MMA leaders including Dr Merajul Huda Siddiqui, Abdul Karim Abid, Maulana Muhammad Hassan, Muhammad Hussain Mehanti, Hameedullah Khan Advocate, Muhammad Younus Barai, Hafiz Muhammad Taqi, Dr Wasey Shakir, Amir Ghaffari, Khalid Khan Arshi and Shahid Qureshi in their respective constituencies.
The MMA leaders said the government was planning to change Islamic laws at the behest of the US but MMA would not allow them to transform Pakistan into a secular state.
"Pakistan was established for practising Islam and nobody would be allowed to change its identity. The blasphemy law is a matter of life and death for Muslims, as no Muslim can compromise on the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)," they added.
They claimed that by abolishing Hudood ordinance, rulers were planning to pave the way for spreading vulgarity and destruction of religious and ethical norms and values.
"After declaring former mujahideen as terrorists, the US was demanding rulers to transform Pakistan into a secular state by reshaping Islamic laws and imposing a ban on spread of Islamic teachings," they said, adding that ban on the use of loudspeakers was part of the dictations.
They further said that instead of resolving genuine issues confronting the masses, rulers were utilising all resources on less important issues to divert the attention from the deteriorating law and order situation, price-hike, unemployment and other similar ones. -PPI
