MIRPUR: Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) member Shehzad Faisal Riaz Qasmi has said that a network of hostile agencies working in Pakistan have caused the martyrdom of over 70,000 innocent civilians and around 10,000 security personnel in bomb blasts and suicide attacks.
He expressed these views while addressing the audience at a conference titled “Paigham-e-Pakistan: Ishq-e-Rasool (SAW) Conference” at Mirpur in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The event was organised by Anjuman Muhibban-e-Tareeqat International Mohra Sharif.
Speakers at the conference on Sunday said that international forces were conspiring against Pakistan in order to weaken it by fanning internal conflicts and differences.
“Under an organised international conspiracy, huge amounts are being spent to stoke violent extremism, terrorism and sectarianism in Pakistan,” Qasmi said in his address.
“Fearful of Pakistan’s defence and nuclear capabilities, the enemies had been using the more dangerous weapon of violent extremism and sectarianism to divide and weaken the nation on religious lines,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s armed forces have fully exposed this international conspiracy hatched by the hostile agencies before the world.
“The organised network of hostile agencies has been destroyed. Operation Raddul-Fassad is very successfully going on against the terrorists as well as their facilitators,” he said.
Qasmi said to rid the country of terrorism and violent extremism once and for all, over 5,000 religious scholars and clerics belonging to different schools of thought have drafted a national narrative – Paigham-e-Pakistan – which portrays a soft and positive image of Pakistan and highlights Islam as a religion of peace, brotherhood, tolerance and harmony.
“Paigham-e-Pakistan narrative is in fact a description and explanation of our religion through which the nation has been advised to lead a peaceful life by adhering to Islam’s principles of peace, brotherhood, tolerance, equity, equality and forgiveness,” he said, adding that it is the religious, national and moral responsibility of every citizen that the national narrative is followed and contributes towards establishment of a peaceful society.
Qasmi also urged religious clerics, scholars, ulema, mashaikh and notables of the society to play their part in making Pakistan a citadel of peace, stability and tranquility.
“Muslim nations across the world have pinned high hopes on Pakistan. We have always promoted international Muslim brotherhood by raising our voice against atrocities being committed against Muslims across the globe, due to which other oppressed nations also give high respect to Pakistan,” he said.
Other speakers stressed the need to promote inter-sect harmony and religious tolerance in the society in order to ensure peace and tranquility. They emphasised the need to follow a code of conduct to eradicate extremism from the society and encourage peace, tolerance, unity and brotherhood, which will in turn help thwart the nefarious designs of the enemies who are hell bent on dividing the Muslim Ummah on religious, sectarian and ethnic lines in order to make it weaker.
Throwing light on the ‘Paigham-e-Pakistan’ initiative of the government of Pakistan, they termed it the best tool to deal with the growing extremism and intolerance in society. They said the document was the best depiction of Quran, Sunnah and social principles of the Islamic Shariah and by applying these golden principles, “we can turn our country into a role model of peace and harmony.”
The conference was attended by a large number of Ulema, scholars, Mashaikh, civil society activists and people belonging to different segments of life.