Religious leaders meet today to review Sindh govt’s decision to limit Friday prayer congregations

Key religious leaders will meet in Karachi today to revisit their decision of cooperating with the provincial government after clashes were reported between worshippers and police in different areas of the metropolis over limiting of Friday prayer congregations, reports The News.

On Sunday, religious leaders had attended a meeting to discuss the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the government’s efforts, particularly clashes in Karachi’s Frontier Colony.

The leaders were of the view that the registration of cases against prayer leaders of mosques was against the assurances given by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and law enforcement agencies.

The meeting was attended by prominent scholars from the Deobandi school of thought, including Mufti Muhammad Rafi Usmani, Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, Maulana Dr Adil Khan, Mufti Azizur Rehman, Qari Muhammad Usman, Maulana Imdadullah and Dr Qasim Mehmood.

On Friday, Sharafat Khan, a female SHO of the Pirabad police station, was attacked after she tried to prevent worshippers from entering a mosque.

Read also: SHO attacked outside mosque in Karachi, police pelted with stones

“The woman SHO disrespected the mosque by entering with shoes and misbehaved with the worshippers. We will not accept the registering of a case against the prayer leader because it is not his responsibility to stop worshippers from coming to the mosque for prayers,” a statement issued after the religious leaders' meeting said.

The clerics unanimously demanded that the authorities remove Khan from her post, conduct an impartial inquiry into the incident and withdraw cases lodged against the prayer leader and the mosque management.

The participants expressed concerns over “the delaying tactics being used to withdraw the cases registered against imams” for violating the government’s restriction for Friday congregations. “Despite Chief Minister Shah’s directives to withdraw the cases against all clerics unconditionally, police have been delaying the process,” the statement said.

It was then decided to convene a meeting again for Tuesday to devise a strategy regarding the prayer congregations at mosques.

“The plan for preventing the worshippers from attending the prayers at mosques has failed and we should devise a strategy to allow worshippers by adopting safety measures, such as keeping distance between the rows during the prayers,” the statement said.

Read also: Entire country to have uniform policy for Ramazan: Religious affairs minister

The clerics also demanded a halt to targeting members of tableeghi congregation members over the spread of the coronavirus.

'Country to have uniform policy for Ramazan'

Moreover, Qadri said on Monday that the entire country will have a uniform policy regarding Ramazan this year with the parties to lay out a comprehensive strategy for the holy month in wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The minister said the government will approach Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, Siraj-ul-Haq, Sajid Mir, Sajid Naqvi and other religious leaders for policy-making consultations.

While referring to untoward incidents regarding congregational prayers and violation of the ban due to the pandemic, the minister expressed displeasure by referring to them as 'unfortunate'.

Qadri said that the high number of cases had led to an unnecessary debate on whether Iranian pilgrims or tableeghis were behind the spread of the coronavirus