LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Sindh Province officials are trying to impose a ban on organizers of a minority rights march under pressure from an extremist Islamist party opposed to any changes in Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws, sources said.
In an official letter to the Commissioner of Karachi Division on Friday (Aug. 23), the Sindh Home Department stated that the organizers of the Minorities Rights March held on the Aug. 11 National Minorities Day had violated their responsibility “to uphold religious harmony and respect interfaith boundaries.”
“The SSP [Senior Superintendent of Police] has recommended that the NOC [No Objection Certificate] granted to Mr. [Luke] Victor and his associates may be prohibited from organizing any future events for violating the said code of conduct to prevent any potential law and order issues,” states the letter viewed by Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and other Islamist parties, including the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and Sunni Tehreek, had earlier threatened the Sindh government with unrest if it allowed the minorities rights march on Aug. 11. The government initially withdrew the NOC granted to march organizers in Karachi but later allowed them to hold a gathering after protests against the decision.
Hundreds of TLP workers on Friday (Aug. 23) clashed with police outside the office of the Sindh Police Inspector General, demanding that a case be registered against march organizers for allegedly spreading “fake propaganda” against Section 295-C of Pakistan’s widely condemned blasphemy statutes. The law carries a mandatory death penalty for disrespecting Islam’s prophet, Muhammad.
The TLP workers attacked policemen with stones, injuring several officers, and were dispersed only after senior police officials vowed that NOCs for such marches would not be given in the future….
In an official letter to the Commissioner of Karachi Division on Friday (Aug. 23), the Sindh Home Department stated that the organizers of the Minorities Rights March held on the Aug. 11 National Minorities Day had violated their responsibility “to uphold religious harmony and respect interfaith boundaries.”
“The SSP [Senior Superintendent of Police] has recommended that the NOC [No Objection Certificate] granted to Mr. [Luke] Victor and his associates may be prohibited from organizing any future events for violating the said code of conduct to prevent any potential law and order issues,” states the letter viewed by Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and other Islamist parties, including the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and Sunni Tehreek, had earlier threatened the Sindh government with unrest if it allowed the minorities rights march on Aug. 11. The government initially withdrew the NOC granted to march organizers in Karachi but later allowed them to hold a gathering after protests against the decision.
Hundreds of TLP workers on Friday (Aug. 23) clashed with police outside the office of the Sindh Police Inspector General, demanding that a case be registered against march organizers for allegedly spreading “fake propaganda” against Section 295-C of Pakistan’s widely condemned blasphemy statutes. The law carries a mandatory death penalty for disrespecting Islam’s prophet, Muhammad.
The TLP workers attacked policemen with stones, injuring several officers, and were dispersed only after senior police officials vowed that NOCs for such marches would not be given in the future….
