RAWALPINDI: On the call of Tehreek-i-Nifaz-i-Fiqh-i-Jafariya (TNFJ) head Allama Agha Syed Hussain Maqdisi, the ‘Day of Martyrs and the Oppressed’ was observed to condemn the deteriorating and extremely dire situation in Parachinar.

Protest gatherings were held in central mosques across the country after Friday prayers.

Religious scholars expressed deep concern over the large number of innocent civilians being martyred and the continued loss of lives due to lack of essential food and medicine during the severe winter. This situation was termed a failure of both the provincial and federal governments.

In Rawalpindi, the TNFJ Regional Council organised a protest rally brought out from Liaquat Bagh Chowk to Committee Chowk on Murree Road. The rally was led by TNFJ Pakistan’s Vice President Syed Farzand Ali Shah Kazmi, Secretary General Allama Raja Basharat Hussain Imami, Regional President Allama Shabihul Hasnain Kazmi, General Secretary Shaukat Abbas Jafri and others.

Addressing the participants, TNFJ Secretary General Allama Raja Basharat Hussain Imami regretted that the current Punjab government had imposed unconstitutional and unjust standard operating procedures (SOPs) against Azadari, creating obstacles.

He said the TNFJ rejected it and gave the provincial government a 90-day notice to reverse the SOPs.

He held banned groups operating with foreign support responsible for the ongoing terrorism and unrest in Parachinar and urged the government to crush these groups, tighten the noose around miscreants and terrorists, open the roads to Kurram Agency for the public and hand over the entire area to the army to establish lasting peace.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2024