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Nation mourns Dr Naeemi, protests, sit-ins held
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Protesters in Lahore,
Hyderabad burn tyres, Jamia Naeemia students force police out of
madrassa
ISLAMABAD: Anger gripped the nation following the killing of
religious scholar Dr Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi in a suicide attack in
Lahore on Friday, APP quoted a report aired on a private TV channel.
People from all walks of life condemned the attack, and termed Dr
Naeemi’s demise a huge loss for Islam and Pakistan.
Protests: Dr Naeemi’s followers and devotees staged protests in
various parts of Lahore, Hyderabad and other areas of the country.
They chanted slogans and set tyres on fire.
In Lahore, enraged students from Dr Naeemi’s Jamia Naeemia, one of
the largest religious seminaries in Pakistan, scuffled with
policemen and forced them out of the madrassa premises.
In Hyderabad, Sunni Tehreek activists staged a protest sit-in at
Hyder Chowk area and set tyres on fire.
Tanzeemul Madaris, the supervisory body of hundreds of seminaries of
the Barelvi school of thought, has announced a day of mourning today
(Saturday) in protest of the Naeemi's murder. Seminaries affiliated
with the body would observe a holiday today, Mufti Muneebur Rehman
said. The traders’ association in Lahore has also announced a strike
against the incident.
According to the Online news agency, the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC)
also announced on Friday to observe a mourning day today, saying all
the seminaries being run by the Tanzeemul Madaris and the SIC would
remain close.
Spokesmen of the Wafaqul Madaris Arbia and Jaffria Alliance
Pakistan, and other religious scholars expressed profound grief over
the demise of Dr Naeemi and said his assassination was a huge loss
for the nation. Agencies.
Holiday in Lahore today
LAHORE: The Punjab government has announced a public holiday in
Lahore and mourning across the province today (Saturday) over the
martyrdom of religious scholar Dr Sarfraz Naeemi, a private TV
channel reported on Friday. According to the channel, Dr Naeemi will
be buried with official honours. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah
told the channel that strict security arrangements would be made for
the funeral ceremony. Dr Naeemi was killed in a suicide attack in
Lahore on Friday. He was the head of Jamia Naeemia, one of the
largest religious seminaries of the country.
Daily Times:
Saturday, June 13, 2009 |
