- Former PM says negative views have nothing to do with PML-N’s ideology, policies
- ‘Minorities enjoy fundamental rights under constitution, Islamic teachings’
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Mian Nawaz Sharif, while commenting on the controversy surrounding the Khatam-e-Nabuwat clause, said Sunday that the matter should be kept clean from “political filth”, as it has already been settled once and for all.
According to a statement issued here by PML-N leader Asif Karmani, Nawaz said the negative views expressed on the matter had nothing to do with his party’s ideology and policies. He said that firm belief in the finality of Prophethood (Khatam-e-Nabuwat) was mandatory for being a Muslim and it was the part and parcel of the constitution.
Nawaz said that the mistake in the Election Bill, 2017, was immediately rectified, for which he was thankful to all parliamentary parties.
Earlier, due to a “clerical error”, the clause pertaining to Khatam-e-Nabuwat in the nomination form was removed, which was restored immediately following a backlash by the opposition parties.
The ousted premier’s statement comes as a belated reaction to the diatribe of Capt (r) Safdar, a senior PML-N lawmaker and Nawaz’s son-in-law, against the Ahmadis in the National Assembly last Tuesday. Safdar’s rant was met with a strong response on social media, inciting countrywide protests by religious activists.
“The minorities have got complete safety of their lives and belongings, as well as their basic rights. They have all these rights in accordance with the constitution and Islamic teachings,” Nawaz said in the statement.
Nawaz said his party had the honour of being the party of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah—who assured all the segments of society of their religious and social freedom in the country. He said that the people of Pakistan thrice chose him as the prime minister and each time he served them without any discrimination of language, colour and creed, adding, “I made sure minorities’ rights without discrimination on the basis of religion or faith.”
After Safdar’s anti-Ahmadi remarks, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, in a statement, distanced himself for his (Safdar) tirade, and reaffirmed PML-N’s commitment to upholding the rights of the minorities. The prime minister called Safdar’s tirade an emotional outburst rather than a hate speech, but he did say that such outbursts threaten the stability of society.
Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, in reaction to the hate speech against the minority community in the National Assembly, said that Pakistan respected all minorities and that “it is tragic to see hate speech against minorities in National Assembly.”
Safdar’s speech against the Ahmadis was reportedly to work as a distraction from the recent gaffe—removal of clause pertaining to the finality of Prophethood—made by the ruling PML-N during the Electoral Reforms Bill.
“I demand a complete ban on the recruitment of Ahmadis in the army and other services,” Capt Safdar had said while speaking on a point of order, adding that the officials related to the minority group were a “threat to Pakistan’s sovereignty, and hence, they should be removed from those positions forthwith”.
Later, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan also came under criticism when he tried to clarify Safdar’s remarks about the Ahmadis. In a bid to prove his stance, Sanaullah stirred up a hornet’s nest when called the Ahmadis Muslims.
A day later, Sanaullah addressed a press conference to clear his position, where he said the Ahmadi community should stop declaring themselves as Muslims if they want to be treated in the same manner as other religious minority groups in Pakistan.
He said that “let me state it very clearly that, according to Islam and Pakistan’s constitution, those who do not believe in Khatam-e-Nabuwwat (finality of Prophethood) are not Muslims.” “It is our duty to protect minorities of the country but the Ahmedis will first have to stop claiming to be Muslims. There is no other way around it,” Sanaullah said.
Sanaullah also said that Captain (r) Safdar during his speech in parliament was correct, but his claim that there should be no Ahmadis in the army was totally wrong.
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So he finally admits his politics of filth. He started it and with his departure filth will go from politics.
The former PM has a gem of a son in law. Thanks god he retired or was retired from the military! He has exercised his right of free speech which does not give him the right of hate speech esp. against a minority which is allready under the kosh. There are two ways of exposing one self as an idiot. !) To keep quiet and let others assume that you are one.2) To open your mouth and remove all doubts about it. That the former PM is indulging in damage control regarding his son in laws speech points to the latter!
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