MQI demands of the government to take stringent security measures

No sane person can deny the phenomenon of terrorism that has been causing havoc across the length and breadth of Pakistan for last many years. Markets, educational institutions, bazars, religious places, shrines, government buildings and security forces have been the victim of terrorist strikes. In these dire circumstances, Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri raised a voice against the evil forces of terrorism and extremism. He authored a research-based scholarly 600-page Fatwa which declared the perpetrators of these horrible crimes out of ambit of Islam in the light of the Quranic verses, and Traditions. Fatwa won both national and international appreciation.

This magnum opus of Shaykh-ul-Islam knocked the bottom from under the feet of terrorists who were invoking the teachings of Islam to justify their otherwise reprehensible acts. They turned against Shaykh-ul-Islam and threatened to bomb the buildings and Mosques of Minhaj-ul-Quran International.

These views were expressed by acting Secretary General of MQI Brig.(r) Iqbal Ahmad Khan, Chief Security Officer Syed Altaf Hussain Gilani, Jawad Hamid, Haji Rahat Habib, Sheikh Farooq Ahmad, and Manzoor Ahmad Mashahdi in a joint press conference at the Lahore Press Club yesterday. They said that even intelligence agencies sent reports indicating the strong possibility of attack on central secretariat of MQI. The local Police did take necessary precautionary measures. However, some protégés and supporters of terrorists have been making all out efforts to remove the barricades installed for the purpose of protection by the local administration. This step has rendered the hundreds of people including the students studying at the Minhaj University vulnerable to any mishap. The lives of hundreds of people who work in various directorates and departments of MQI have been put at stake in this manner. The central secretariat of MQI can be an easier target of the terrorists in these circumstances and any untoward incident can happen any time.

They asked the federal and provincial government to re-install the security measures and provide maximum security to headquarter and institutions of Minhaj ul Quran. They appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan and Chief Justice of Lahore High Court to order the government to not only put in place previous security arrangements but also further tighten them in view of the intelligence reports of secret services before any unfortunate happening takes place.