ISLAMABAD, 10 March 2005 — Hundreds of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) activists yesterday staged a demonstration against the removal of the “religion” column from the Pakistani passport, accusing the government of attempting to turn the Islamic country into a secular state.
The protesters marched along the capital’s main roads and chanted slogans against the government and President Pervez Musharraf. Protesters also burned an effigy of Musharraf, witnesses said.
Banners and placards waved by the emotional protesters read: “Go, Musharraf! Go!” and “Friends of Americans are infidels”, about 5,000 followers of religious parties rallied amid Musharraf’s calls for people to combat extremism and stop the misuse of mosques and madrassas.
“The rulers want to turn Pakistan into a secular state,” Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a top leader of the six-party Islamic alliance told an emotionally charged rally. “But we will never allow them to do so,” he promised as the crowd cheered.
The latest confrontation between Musharraf and the religious bloc erupted after the government issued new machine-readable passports in October. In line with international standards, they do not include a column specifying the holder’s religion.
Previously, Pakistani passports required bearers to state whether they were Muslims, Christians, Buddhists or affiliates of other religions.
The change has enraged Islamists, who have vowed protests to force the government to reverse it. “The column of religion was removed to appease America,” said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, head of the MMA.
“We will not accept any change in the Islamic laws. They will face strong reaction from us if they tried to do so,” he said.
Addressing the protesters, Hussain Ahmed criticized Musharraf for his “pro-American” slant and accused him of trying to turn Pakistan into a secular state.
“This is also a conspiracy against the Constitution,” Hussain Ahmed said. “Musharraf first took a U-turn and helped the Americans topple an Islamic regime in Afghanistan and he is also taking a U-turn on the Kashmir issue with India,” accusing the president of acting at the behest of the United States.
Hussain Ahmed announced the launch of a “peaceful movement” against the government decision to remove the passport religion entry until their demand to reinstate it was met.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz recently set up a cabinet committee to consider the issue and report its recommendations. The committee has held several meetings but its report is still awaited.
Aziz, meanwhile, said sectarianism, extremism and terrorism have badly affected Muslim societies. He called upon religious scholars to play their role for rooting out these menaces.
Aziz addressing the Sindh Ulema and Mashaikh Conference Tuesday observed that Islam at present point of time may be exposed to challenges but it holds the capacity to meet them boldly.
Extremism has created social, political and economic weaknesses in Muslim societies and harmed the image of Islam, he said.
Aziz called upon religious scholars to be extremely cautious in their approach toward the theory of “Clash of Civilization” and reaffirm the conviction of Muslims in general and youth in particular regarding the strength of their religion, which holds immense flexibility and promotes respect for humanity. — Input from Agencies
