Former federal law & human rights minister and Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Secretary-General Iqbal Haider on Tuesday condemned what he called "the ridiculous statement of Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim that storm of the last weekend and resulting loss of lives is wrath of Allah Almighty due to obscenity in the society."
In a press statement issued here, Iqbal Haider said that such a capricious statement of the chief minister was an attempt on the one hand to absolve himself of the obligation to ensure protection of the life and property of the people and on the other he is promoting bigotry and strengthening the extremist forces who want to Talibanise Sindh as well after controlling NWFP.
The former minister questioned the chief minister to identify the billboards, which had reflected nudity or obscenity. If this perception of the chief minister is correct then he and his allies in the provincial and city governments should in the first place accept their responsibility and offer at least unconditional apology for allowing such obscene billboards.
He was of the opinion that no advertisement or billboard in Karachi by any sane person or by stretch of any clean mind, logic or reason could be termed as nude or obscene or against Shariah, just because it shows pretty face of a woman.
"If the face of a woman on billboards shakes faith of someone and he finds them obscene, then the fault lies in his own bigoted perverted mind and not in the advertisements." Iqbal Haider pointed out that the billboards had fallen simply because the Sindh government and CDGK had failed to follow and implement the laws and take preventive and protective measures.
He reminded that only last year, hundreds of huge billboards were removed by the concerned authorities for the security reasons alone, as they were hazardous to the traffic, life and property of the citizens.
He said that Dr Arbab Rahim and the Karachi City Nazim must explain as to why these huge billboards were allowed to be resurrected and for what consideration legal or illegal, the authorities cancelled their earlier decision to remove billboards. Haider called upon the Sindh government and the CDGK to accept their own responsibility for the worst disasters being suffered repeatedly by Karachiites.
He said the government must stop exploiting religious sentiments of the people by claiming that it is the wrath of Allah Almighty. "Such statements only add insult to the intelligence and injuries of the people. Citizens of Karachi are educated and enlightened enough to distinguish between wrath of Allah and disasters caused due to acts and omissions committed by the callous, incompetent and corrupt functionaries of the governments at all levels", said Iqbal Haider.
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