HYDERABAD, Jan 16: Taj Hyder, general secretary of the Sindh chapter of PPP, has said that extremist forces are using new tactics to attack liberal and progressive forces.

Speaking at a “Peace and tolerance conference” organised by the Peace Forum at the local press club on Sunday, he said that he wondered why the blasphemy law could not be amended because it was a man-made law and being used against innocent people.

Mr Hyder said that while the rightists were mounting pressure on the PPP, leftists also were pelting it with stones. He said that the enemies of the PPP knew what it stood for but unfortunately its friends did not.

“Give us some space. We are already under attack from rightists while you [leftists] are also hurling stones at us”, he said in response to allegations levelled by leftists that it was conceding ground to retrogressive forces on issues like blasphemy law and assassination of Punjab governor Salman Taseer. He said that no Muslim would ever dare to make derogatory remarks against the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

He said that extremist forces sided with the army and the establishment when they failed to occupy the state through the ballot, adding that it was extremism which caused the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and Salman Taseer. He said it was the PPP government which blunted the advance of Taliban who were only a few kilometres from Islamabad.

He said there was a feeling that another Islami Jamhoori Ittehad was in the making and even the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal was being revived what was preventing PML-N and Q from taking a firm stance on the blasphemy law.

“Why can't it be amended? It was enacted by Gen Zia and there is no verse in Holy Quran which sanctions killing of those committing blasphemy,” he said.

He said that extremism was dying and even Ulema were reconsidering their stance on the blasphemy law.

Provincial adviser on Information Sharmila Farooqui spoke about the reconciliation policy of government and said it was all about tolerance and peace.

She said that the government was working to revive declining economy.

Jeay Sindh Mahaz leader Khaliq Junejo blamed successive governments, including the liberal ones, for supporting extremism in one way or the other. He said he wondered how could people follow the Father of the Nation and the 1973 Constitution at the same time when the founder of Pakistan had nothing to do with religion while the Constitution called the country an Islamic Republic.

Communist leader Imdad Qazi said an organisation was carrying out jihad as a business. Liberal forces must see which way the society is heading. He said that despite all its weakness, PPP was a secular force.

Former advocate-general of Sindh Yusuf Leghari spoke about ways of waging long and short-term struggle against extremism. He said secular forces should embrace people who listened to their point of view patiently and did not oppose them.

He added that the PPP should declare that religion had got nothing to do with the state and all progressive and liberal forces should back the PPP because it was democracy which promoted tolerance.

The present situation in the country is reminiscent of the days in Europe when priests used to punish people,” he said.

Iqbal Mallah, Dr Bukshal Thalo, Razaq Umrani and Zulfikar Shah also spoke on the occasion.