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President says according to Islamic teachings, extremism, bloodshed, suicide-bombing were categorised as spreading evil on earth
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Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal says terrorism has no place in Islam
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Foreign minister urges nation to own the narrative the fatwa is based on
ISLAMABAD: The government unveiled the ‘Paigham-i-Pakistan’ fatwa (religious edict) on Tuesday seeking to address the challenges posed by extremism and sectarianism.
Addressing the ceremony, President Mamnoon Hussain expressed confidence that the unanimous fatwa issued by religious scholars belonging to various schools of thought would help in facing the challenges posed by terrorism.
“Issuing a fatwa drafted by means of a consultative process is a step in the right direction,” the president said, adding that it would portray a “soft and positive image of Pakistan” and highlight Islam as a religion of peace, brotherhood, tolerance and accommodation.
The president said the launch of national narrative on counter-terrorism manifested that the whole nation was extremely serious on the issue and would be successful in achieving its objectives through unity.
“I believe that this decree, prepared in the light of true teachings of Islam, will transform their hearts and pave the way for their salvation in the hereinafter.”
He said according to Islamic teachings, extremism, bloodshed and suicide-bombing were categorised as spreading evil on earth (Fasaad-fil-Ard), which was categorically prohibited and unjustified.
He expressed satisfaction that under the Paigham-e-Pakistan, different religious schools of thought had unanimously prepared an impressive document in light of the teachings of Quran and Sunnah, whereby rationale behind sectarianism and use of religion for spreading evil on earth stood rebutted and the true face of Islam was revealed.
The president said it was imperative that religious scholars, intellectuals and all institutions of the state must be vigilant, and, apart from individual efforts, should collectively work with a mutual consensus to safeguard the nation against divisiveness.
He mentioned that renunciation of research, dogmatism and intolerance resulted in dreadful forms of sectarianism.
He said the country’s constitution provided a strong foundation for national unity and communal harmony, and was the fundamental narrative based on the teachings of Quran and Sunnah and on the sagacity of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
The president pointed out that the state and its institutions to a certain extent fell short of discharging their responsibilities during the 1970s to 1990s which resulted in several complexities.
He said the nation sacrificed 70,000 precious lives and suffered huge financial losses due to terrorism, and urged all segments of the nation to make a resolve not to repeat such mistakes.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, while addressing participants of the ceremony, underlined the urgent need for Muslim nations to progress and have something positive to show over the next 400 years, and touted the fatwa as a means to obtain national unity.
“If we want to correct our direction for the future, it is necessary that society is peaceful and stable because without them we cannot embark on this journey. We must introspect and look within instead of hypothesising about conspiracies. We need to be ready and accountable in order to undertake this journey,” he said.
“Pakistan was not created so it could be just one more addition to a list of the world’s poorest countries. It is necessary to show the world that even in this modern day and age, the Muslims of South Asia have the ability to form a successful nation on the basis of Islamic principles,” he stressed.
“It is a matter of concern that after 70 years, the dream for Pakistan, the dignity and justice we had to provide the nation, were not realised. All of this is only possible when the ethos of a nation or group of people is apparent to them,” he said.
“When the nation ceases to believe in self-reliance and its narrative pertaining to itself is scattered, then it becomes a group of people who have differences with each other. When differences are prevalent, then the outcome is that which we are seeing today,” he said.
“The fatwa will provide a platform for national unity… So that in the 21st century, we can make Pakistan a distinguished country, an Asian tiger, and bring the Quaid’s dream to fruition,” he claimed.
“Terrorism has no place in Islam,” he asserted.
“We have been fighting regional conflict, and the events we face today are not completely of our doing. To a great extent, the world powers who fought the Soviet Union are responsible,” Iqbal said.
“But when the Soviet lost in Afghanistan, the world powers dusted off their hands and disappeared, leaving behind piles of weapons and the poorest segments of those societies,” he said.
Addressing the ceremony, Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif urged the nation to own the narrative the fatwa is based on and to back all national institutions that are working against terrorism.
He said the narrative would become the identity of Pakistani nation as peace-loving people in the comity of nations.
“With this narrative, we make it clear to the entire world that all national institutions are united against terrorism,” Asif said. “We have rejected all forms of terrorism and extremism,” he asserted.
“The land of Pakistan at no time shall be allowed to be used for the propagation of any kind of terrorism,” he said, adding that this included training and recruitment of terrorists, along with execution of terror activities in other countries “and other such ulterior motives”.
The outcomes of this narrative will be evident to the nation soon, Asif vowed.
He said the national counter-terrorism narrative had made it clear before the world that the Pakistani nation would no longer let terrorist elements join its ranks.
The foreign minister said terrorism had become an issue of international importance and mentioned continuous efforts by Pakistan to eradicate the menace from its soil.
He said several successful operations had been carried out in the country against the elements that targeted innocent people.
He mentioned that 1,829 scholars from across the country declared terrorism and extremism as evil, and their unanimity of views demonstrated their patriotism.
He said Islam and terrorism were in total contrast to each other, adding that the government would make every possible effort to achieve the objectives of Paigham-e-Pakistan.
Leader of the House in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Mufti Munibur Rehman, Maulana Abdul Malik, Islamic International University Rector Dr Masoom Yasinzai and Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed also spoke on the occasion.
On Monday, details emerged of a Fatwa (Islamic ruling) signed by over 1,800 religious clerics from different schools of thought.
The ruling states that those who commit suicide attacks, order such attacks, train such people are all considered rebels against the true spirit of Islam. The ruling further states that the state has the right to act against such people.