Several Sunni parties reject ban on religious processions

Pakistan Sunni Tehrik (PST) and 30 other Sunni parties have rejected any ban on religious processions including Melad processions and said it was the government's responsibility to provide protection to those processions and maintain law and order in the country.
An All Sunni Parties Peace Conference (Brelvi school of thought) organised by PST Ulema Board on Wednesday said there was no confrontation or differences between Sunni and Shia sects, the conflict was between Deobandis and Shias who had put security and wellbeing of the country at stake. "Peoples belong to Sunni school of thoughts are tolerant and followers of teachings of Soofia-e-Karam who had given the message of love, affection and brotherhood among all Muslims," he added.
A PST press release said the conference was attended among others by Mufti Ghufran Sialvi, Sahibzada Usman Ghani, Sahibzada Ikhlaq Jalali, Allama Saeed Akhtar Siddiq, Hafiz Muhammad Hussain, Mufti Naseerudedin Naseer Rizvi, Allama Mushtaq Ahmad Jallali, Allama Aziz Ahmad Kokab, Allama Shafiq Qadri, Danish Gardezi, Munir Mustafai, Allama Kabir, Amjad Abbasi, Mohammad Qaiser Sultani, Professor Sajidur Rehman, Allama Shah Nawaz Ziai, Allama Muhammad Ahmad Qadri, Allama Allah Dad Shahid, Rizwan Mahboob Qureshi, Qazi Zahoor Elahi, Syed Irfan Shah Kazi, Talha Obaidi, Allama Ilyas Farooqui, Allama Muhammad Nazeer Saifi, Maulana Rafique Shakir, Mufti Muhammad Rizvi, and Allama Mudassar Rizvi.
The Ulema/Mushaikh said the banned religious outfits claiming themselves to be Ahle-Sunnat were spreading sectarianism and committing terrorist acts in the country and defaming name of Islam. They said the root cause of the bloodshed was external religious interference. Foreign countries were financing flaring up of sectarianism in Pakistan, the Brelvi Ulema alleged.
"It is responsibility of the government to stop external funding to the banned and terrorist groups, take action against the printing presses publishing inflammatory material, clear Madaris and religious seminaries of arms and ammunitions and give exemplary punishment to those who are playing havoc with the fate of the people and solidarity of the country," they demanded.
The Ulema said that report of the inquiry commission about Rawalpindi Ashura incident be completed earlier as soon as possible and the criminals belonging to any sect or group should be dealt with under the law on priority basis.
They said Sunni Ulema strongly opposed US drone attacks on Pakistan territory, therefore the government should take a bold decision and shot them down.