Ulema Urge Sweden, dUtch govtS for prompt action againSt deSecratorS of holy QUran

Ulemamashaykh and religious scholars on Friday observed the ‘Sanctity of Quran and Namoose-Risalat Day’ and urged the governments of Sweden and Netherlands to take immediate action against those who breached the sanctity and prestige of the Holy Quran. addressing the public congregation at Friday Prayer across the country, they underlined the need to legislate against the perspective of international law from the forum of the United Nations against Islamophobia, besides heavenly religions and divine books.

Ulema said the desecrators had hurt the religious feelings of 1.5 billion muslims on the globe. Islam was a religion of peace and security and the teachings of the Holy Quran was to promote peace, affection, tolerance, and harmony, they added.

They made it clear that sacrilegious remarks about the sanctity of any religion could not be termed as freedom of expression. In this regard, the leadership of Pakistan Ulema Council addressed Friday sermons in their respective districts and divisions including Chairman Hafiz muhammad Tahir mahmood ashrafi who is also the prime minister’s special representative for interfaith harmony and middle east, in lahore, maulana Dr abu Bakar Siddique (Islamabad), allama abdul Haq mujahid (multan), Qazi mutiullah Saeedi (Gujarat), maulana asadullah Farooq (lahore), maulana Dr asad Zakaria (Karachi), maulana Haq Nawaz Khalid, maulana Ubaidullah Gormani, allama Tahirul Hasan (Faisalabad), maulana muhammad Shafi

Qasmi, maulana Hanif Usmani (Sahiwal), Pir asadhabib Shah Jamali, maulana muhammad asghar Khosa (Dera Ghazi

Khan), maulana Nauman Hashir, maulana Tahir aqeel awan (Rawalpindi), maulana abu Bakr Sabri, (Islamabad), maulana anwar-ul-Haq mujahid, Shabir Yusuf Gujjar, maulana abdul malik asif (multan), maulana aslam Siddiqui, maulana abdul Hakeem athar, maulana Islamuddin, Qari muhammad aslam Qadri, Qari Shams-ulHaq (lahore), maulana Hasan ahmad Hussaini (Diska), maulana muhammad Khurshid Nomani (Bahalangar), maulana abdullah Haqqani, maulana abdullah Rashidi (Kasur), mian Rashid munir (Sialkot), maulana asim Shad, maulana abdul Waheed Farooqui (Narowal), maulana abu Bakar Hamza (Chakwal), maulana Habib-ur-Rehman abid, maulana Tayyab Gurmani, maulana Izhar-ul-Haq Khalid, Sahibzada Hamza Tahir-ul-Hasan (Faisalabad), maulana Saadullah ludhianvi (Toba Tek Singh), maulana anis-ur-Rehman Baloch (Gojra), maulana abdul Rasheed

(Hafizabad), mufti muhammad Umar Farooq (Khanewal), maulana abdul Ghaffar Shah Hijazi (lodhran), maulana Tanveer ahmed (Bahawalpur), maulana muhammad ahmad makki, maulana muhammad ashfaq Patafi (muzaffargarh), maulana Kaleemullah muawiya (Nankana), maulana azizur Rahman muawiya (Talagung), maulana aziz akbar Qasmi ( Rajanpur), maulana Saadullah Shafiq (Rahimyar Khan), maulana Hussain ahmed Petitioner (Karachi), maulana Yasir alvi (Samandari), Qari abdul Rauf, maulana matloob mahar (Bahawalnagar), Hafiz muhammad Talha Farooqui (Vehari), maulana Zubair Khatana. (Gujranwala), maulana aqeel Zubiri (Sargodha), Qari azizur Rehman (leh), maulana atif Iqbal (Kamalia) and others. The Ulema said allah almighty had taken the responsibility of protecting the Holy Quran and by such blasphemous acts, the message of the Holy Quran could not be curtailed. hey said they invited all those who desecrated the Holy Quran to study the holy book and also study ‘Seerat-e-mustafa’ of the Prophet muhammad Peace Be Upon Him, then they would come to know that the Holy Quran was a divine command and its message was about peace, security, and moderation.

Massive anti-India protest held across Britain

LONDON

Staff RepoRt massive protest demonstrations were held across Britain, marking India’s socalled Republic Day as Black Day.

Kashmiris, members of Sikh community, and their allies participated in the protest demos, pressing the UK government to intervene and halt the ongoing genocide in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

The demonstrations were held outside the Indian High Commission in london and Indian Consulate in Birmingham.

Raising slogans against the draconian laws, Unlawful activities (Prevention) act UaPa and Public Safety act (PSa), the protesters said such laws reflect the colonial mindset of the Indian rulers.

“The black laws like the UaPa have no place in the modern and enlightened era that is the 21st century,” said Fahim Kayani, leader of Tehreeke-Kashmir, UK. “India has been a misleading member of the comity of nations and has exploited west’s socalled war on terror to suppress the Kashmiris and other communities, especially Sikh members,” he added.

Pointing out India’s blatant misuse of its colonial laws, the demonstrators said: “If speaking for one’s rights is terrorism, then India’s Gandhi was the terrorist of the century.”

“Fascist Indian regime labelling Dr asif Dar, a renowned physician, as ‘ter-

ISLAMABAD

Staff RepoRt

Pakistan Tourism Development Cooperation (PTDC) along with other provincial and regional partners will showcase Pakistan’s rich tourism potential in the twoday ‘Travel and adventure Show New York’, to begin from January 28 (Saturday). according to an official source, six provincial and regional tourism departments, 20 private tour operators and hospitality companies will take part in the show, and highlight the country’s rich tourism potential for the world. rorist’ is nothing but a move aimed at scaring Kashmiris who live in diaspora,” Kayani said.

“The provincial departments taking part in the event will include Sindh Tourism Development Corporation (STDC), Tourism Development Cooperation of Punjab (TDCP), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cultural and Tourism authority (KPCTa), Culture and Tourism Department Gilgit-Baltistan (CTDGB) and Tourism Department of Balochistan”, the source said. at the outset, the Pakistani delegation will also participate in other sideline meetings to promote Pakistan as a tourist destination in the North american market.

“The event will provide an opportunity to showcase the great potential of Pakistan tourism industry and create linkages with the leading international players of tourism industry which will greatly help attract more tourists”, the source added.

The event will also help enhance the inflow of foreign tourists to discover the rich tourism potential of Pakistan which will contribute in the socio-economic development of the country.

Travel and adventure Show provides a great opportunity to interact with the top international and domestic travel destinations, tour operators, cruise lines and travel providers. With more than 110 events and over 18 years running, the Travel and adventure Show series have been the go-to place for over 2.5 million travelers and over 4,500 of the world’s top destinations, tour operators, cruise lines and travel providers from around the globe.

He said Dr Dar speaks against the illegal Indian occupation of Kashmir and is an ardent supporter of non-violent resistance movement to end illegal Indian occupation in Kashmir.

“The Indian illegal move against Dr asif Dar is basically an expression of the long arm of the Indian state which is going after Kashmiris around the world. No civilized nation can ever think of fol- lowing people in other nations… Such steps by the Indian regime are a slap on the international community as India has overstepped its mandate as a member of the comity of nations,” Kayani said. addressing the demonstrations, the Sikh leader Ranjit Singh Srai condemned India’s holding of Republic Day celebrations. “This day in 1950 when Indian state adopted its Constitution basically legitimized its theft of the right to self-determination from the people of Punjab and Kashmir,” Srai said