In response to the appalling desecration occurrences of religious places in Jaranwala, the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) and the International Interfaith Harmony Council (IIHC) jointly observed a solemn “Condemnation Day” across the nation on Friday.
As religious leaders and academics addressed Friday congregations, tremendous outrage reverberated through mosques.
Ulema and Mashaikh from all parts of the nation resounded the appeal for justice and unity in condemning the terrible act.
They emphasized that the terrible incident’s culprits must face a prompt trial while calling for rapid justice.
Speaking to the public during Friday sermons, religious leaders firmly labeled those who promoted violence as enemies of Islam and Pakistan.
Religious scholars claim that the act has damaged the reputations of Islam, Muslims, and Pakistan, which has caused tremendous sorrow and shame for the entire country.
The Ulema and Mashaikh emphasized that protecting non-Muslims within a country with a majority of Muslims was a duty shared by the state and its Muslim people.
A group of Muslim and Christian leaders would travel to Jaranwala on Saturday (today), according to PUC Chairman Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, who claimed that “we stand as plaintiffs of the Jaranwala tragic incident.”
He also shared details about an upcoming conference on religious harmony that will take place in Islamabad the following week.
Famous religious scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani described the Jaranwala event as “shameful” and “highly condemnable” on X (previously Twitter).
No one is authorized to take the law into his own hands and destroy the church or attack any peaceful Christian citizen if someone did an illegal act, he stressed.
According to Mufti Usmani, the act “totally violates the basic and traditional Islamic teachings” and “amounts to disparaging Islam and Muslims.”
He also urged the government to do something about it.
Separately, Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad stated at a news conference that a high-level committee should be established to investigate the Jaranwala rampage.
“We should keep in mind that Pakistan is a state and that it would take legal action against anyone who violates its laws. But not everyone has the right to establish their own tribunals and torch homes, he argued, recalling instances in which the Christian community rallied alongside Muslims in opposition to the blasphemy of the Holy Quran.
Maulana Azad emphasized the need to rid Pakistan of violence, terrorism, and disruption in his call for an “exemplary punishment” for those responsible for the Jaranwala destruction.
