KARACHI, Aug 7: Leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Altaf Hussain said on Sunday that his party would resist attempts by the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and the Jamaat-i-Islami to introduce Hasba laws in Karachi and expressed confidence that the people of Sindh would support the MQM in its efforts.
Mr Hussain was addressing a general workers rally in Gulshan-i-Iqbal which was attended by a large number of people.
Referring to JI chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad’s televised remarks that the Hasba legislation would again be placed before the assembly, Mr Hussain said the bill was in conflict with Islam as it denied women those rights that were enshrined in their religion. He said it was unfortunate that the bill was introduced by parties who had opposed the creation of Pakistan and were now part of the MMA.
Mr Hussain said he felt saddened to learn that the Jamaat leader had defended the Hasba bill, despite the Supreme Court’s reservations about its clauses, and called for its re-enactment in the NWFP.
The MMA and Jamaat leaders had also been heard saying that they intended to introduce a similar bill after winning the local bodies elections in Karachi, he said. But Mr Hussain declared that their desire to win the upcoming polls in Karachi would remain unrealized as the people of Sindh could see “through the game of religious extremists”.
He pointed out that the Hasba bill passed by the MMA-controlled NWFP Assembly had barred women from participating in elections and in taking up normal vocations.
“If women were not allowed to play their Islamic and constitutional role, then how could these extremists explain the way Bibi Fatima, Hazrat Ayesha and Khadija conducted themselves in practical life?” he asked
He accused the JI of destroying the image of Islam and religion. The MQM leader appealed to the people to follow the Holy Quran and not the propaganda of the JI.
The MQM chief, in a telephonic address from London, accused the JI and other parties of the MMA of poisoning the minds of young men and preparing them for jihad in madressahs. He was of the view that the JI and other extremist parties were doing so to counter the influence of MQM, which had routed them from the city.
Observing that the number of religious seminaries in Karachi had risen remarkably in Karachi following the MQM’s emergence on the political map of the country, Mr Hussain said it was clear that these institutions were not only used to poison young minds about Islam but also counter the MQM.
Because the MQM had swept these extremist organizations out of the political arena, he said, these outfits and their leaders had become extremely jealous of the MQM’s popularity. “After failing to beat the MQM in the elections they wove together a network of madressahs to spread venom in the society,” he said.
Mr Hussain said these religious outfits had been issuing edicts about the killing of non-conformists in the name of religion, forgetting that Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had after the conquest of Makkah declared a general amnesty and had even pardoned Abu Sufyan and Hinda. He never commanded his companions or followers to kill any one.
Mr Hussain claimed that madressahs had been formed to destroy the MQM, but he reckoned that the people of Karachi and the rest of Sindh were “intelligent enough to see through the game of these extremist organizations”.