Former president Asif Ali Zardari has strongly condemned the blackening of faces and parading in public of a couple on the orders of a local Jirga which summarily declared their nikah invalid.
The incident happened in Gujranwala on Saturday.
Zardari also demanded immediate arrest of the culprits and exemplary punishment to them under the law. According to reports, more and more Jirgas hold such unlawful courts and award barbaric punishments. Zardari called this disgusting in his statement released Sunday and called for stringent measures to curb this practice.
He said that recently reports talked of some so called religio-political outfits holding their own courts in parts of Punjab that went un-noticed by the authorities. This indifference of the authorities has encouraged the spreading of this evil to many more cities, towns and villages, which is criminal, he said.
Zardari said that he was deeply perturbed over increasing violence against vulnerable sections, women and non-Muslim minorities on one pretext or another throughout the country.
“It has become customary for religious zealots to act as self declared guardians of public morality in the name of religion. It is an evil that must be curbed with an iron hand,” he said.
Expressing deep concern over the anti-women bias being systematically promoted by some elements in the country, the former president asked party leaders to raise their voice against such abhorrent practices at all the available forums.
REHMAN MALIK MEETS ZARDARI:
Former minister for Interior Rehman Malik held a meeting with Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) co-chairman and former President Asif Ali Zardari in Dubai on Sunday.
The two exchanged views on the current political situation in Pakistan during the meeting. A report quoting sources said that the main agenda of the meeting included the persisting deadlock between the government and opposition on the issue of Terms of References (TORs) for Panama Leaks investigation.
They also reviewed government and opposition performance during the current conditions. Situation in the country after the United States drone attack and the overall conditions in the region post-Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections were also discussed.
