KARACHI – The Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) Bashir Qureshi group, the biggest nationalist party in Sindh, has condemned the abuse of blasphemy laws; the party would announce a protest after GM Syed’s birth anniversary on January 17, JSQM chairman Bashir Khan Qureshi told Pakistan Today on Thursday.
“No murderer should be valorised, and terrorism is not to be condoned under any circumstances,” Qureshi said. “Sindh is a land of peace. We neither believe in, nor support, bigotry and fundamentalism.”
“We follow the ideology of GM Syed, and according to those principles, the misuse of anything, whether it is religion or democracy, is wrong,” JSQM Secretary-General Asif Baladi said. “Sometimes, principles might be right, but are implemented wrongly, and are thus left open to abuse. As such, we believe that in the matter of the blasphemy laws, religious norms and teachings are being misused.”
The party has, therefore, decided in principle to stand against the abuse of blasphemy laws, and its leaders would emphasise this point during speeches in Sann, Dadu district, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of GM Syed.
Condemnations of Salmaan Taseer’s murder and the subsequent valorisation of his murderer have also been issued from all JSQM district headquarters. A protest is being planned, and a final date would be announced after January 17.
“We are also willing to work together in this matter with like-minded organisations,” Baladi said. “We will have to look at their programme, and if it doesn’t go against our ideologies and principles, alliances can be formed on a minimum-point agenda.”
CONDEMNATION OF JOURNALISTS’ MURDER
JSQM chairman Bashir Khan Qureshi on Thursday also decried the murder of journalist Wali Khan Babar. “He was a good friend of ours, and his brutal murder was heart-breaking and condemnable,” he said.
