LAHORE: Around 25 religious parties and groups that form Milli Yakjehti Council on Wednesday decided to launch a protest movement for release of Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed and protection of Islamic laws in the country.

The decision was taken in a meeting of the alliance’s central executive council. It also decided to observe a week of protest, starting from Friday (tomorrow) during which country-wide rallies would be taken out for the both causes.

They also announced a rally on Sunday, from Nasser Bagh to the Punjab Assembly.

The council demanded Hafiz Saeed should be set free, without delay and the government must apologise for detaining him. It also demanded release of all JuD workers, besides withdrawing cases against them.

The council also warned against making any changes to blasphemy law and vowed to protect it in its present form at “every cost”. By letting blasphemy suspects “off the hook”, the government was itself fanning sectarianism, it said.

The council decided to convene a media conference on the issue and protection of blasphemy law.

“The government was also trying to dilute the Two Nation Theory through different conspiracies and the council had decided to call a conference for protection of the ideological basis of the country,” said chief of the council Abul Khair Muhammad Zubair.

Published in Dawn February 9th, 2017