Religious scholars demand 'speedy trials', 'public punishment' of molesters
Ulema asks govt, judiciary to ban and close all sources responsible for spreading obscenity, nudity
ISLAMABAD (APP) – Across country religious scholars, belonging to all schools of thought, on Sunday strongly condemned molestation of a girl in Rawalpindi seminary and demanded speedy trial and punishment in public of the perpetrators of such heinous crimes.
In a joint declaration issued after attending the meeting chaired by Special Representative to the Prime Minister on Interfaith Harmony and Middle East Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, the Ulema asked the government and judiciary to ban and close all such sources responsible for spreading obscenity and nudity in the society.
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the Ministry of Information should close all such websites, pornography and nudity programs and advertisements on social media and the perpetrators should be publicly punished through speedy trial.
The declaration demanded strict action against the perpetrators of harassment,rape of women and children; be it the incident of molestation of a TikToker at Greater Iqbal Park in Lahore, murder of former Pakistan’s envoy’s daughter Noor Muqaddam, harassment of girls travelling in a rickshaw or any other incident of this sort at a seminary, school, college or a university.
The scholars lamented the rising incidents of child abuse and harassment against women in Pakistan and urged prime minister and Chief Justice to take immediate action against the culprits.
They were of the view that people belonging to all segments of the society would immediately have to play their part for keeping moral standards of the society from falling further.
The declaration said Islamic Sharia orders both men and women to avoid obscenity and nudity. Women should cover themselves properly.
Islamic shariah does not allow a man to touch or harass woman. Nor does Islamic shariah allow a woman to wear inappropriate clothing that does not cover her properly.
Meanwhile, talking to media, Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi said that if a girl was abused in a seminary in Rawalpindi, then silence cannot be maintained
It was a crime just like any other crime.It does not matter, the perpetrator belongs to which class, he is a criminal and he should be punished, said Hafiz Ashrafi.
The consultative meeting organized by Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) was attended by Maulana Asad Zakaria Qasmi, Syed Ziaullah Shah Bukhari, Maulana Mufti Muhammad Zia Madani, Allama Arif Wahidi, Allama Abdul Haq Mujahid, Maulana Muhammad Khan Leghari,
Maulana Mufti Muhammad Ali Naqshbandi, Maulana Mufti Abdul Sattar, Maulana Abdul Wahab Rupari, Maulana Muhammad Rafiq Jami, Maulana Noman Hashir, Maulana Aslam Siddiqui, Maulana Pir Asadullah Farooq, Maulana Pir Asad Habib Shah Jamali, Maulana Muhammad Shafi Qasmi, Maulana Anwar-ul-Haq Mujahid, Maulana Tahir Aqeel Awan,
Maulana Obaidullah Gormani, Mufti Muhammad Omar Farooq, Maulana Abu Bakar Sabri, Maulana Saadullah Shafiq, Maulana Aziz Akbar Qasmi, Maulana Muhammad Ashfaq Potafi, Mufti Hafeez-ur-Rehman, Maulana Hussain Ahmad Maulana Qasim Qasmi and others.
