Civil society launches campaign against extremism

Karachi

Civil society activists on Wednesday gathered at the Karachi Press Club to condemn the rising tide of religious fanaticism in the country and pledged to join hands to fight against fundamentalism.

They launched a campaign by the name of ‘Movement for Peace and Religious Tolerance’, which will attempt to take Pakistan along the course that the country’s founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammed Ali Jinnah has envisioned

Speaking at the press conferece, senior politician Meraj Mohammed Khan said that Pakistan was being swallowed by extremists, who were against “everything Quaid-e-Azam stood for”.

“The state machinery has failed miserably to check these elements, so now the citizens of the country have to stand up and take the responsibility on their shoulders,” he said.

Hailing MQM Chief Altaf Hussian’s referendum for the people to choose between Quaid-e-Azam’s Pakistan and the Taliban’s worldview, Khan said it was a step in the right direction and added that the people of Pakistan had always chosen liberal forces to govern them.

“These pro-Taliban religious parties have never made to the parliament in enough numbers to impose their views on the people of Pakistan. The only way they try to impose themselves on the people is by force,” he added.

The members read out a statement by senior lawyer and human rights activist Iqbal Haider, who could not attend the conference. In the statement, Haider said “we wholeheartedly support the campaign against religious terrorism launched by the MQM and the referendum to be held on November 14 will reconfirm that the people of Pakistan want the country envisaged by the father of the nation’

The campaign launched by senior rights activists would, among other measures to rid Pakistan of the current state of obscurantism, make efforts to mobilise the youth and students.

Posted in: Karachi News