New Year interfaith prayer ceremony was held in Saint Mary Church in Gulberg, Lahore, under the banner of National Council for Interfaith Dialogue. Reverend Francis Nadeem was the host of the ceremony. Faith leaders made a collective prayer for year 2015. Those present on the occasion were Master Emanuel Khokhar, Hindu leader Pandit Bhagat Singh, Sikh leader Sardar Bishin Singh, and Muslim leaders Allama Shafaat Rasool, Mufti Ashiq Hussain, Allama Ghulam Mustafa Chishti and director of MQI Interfaith Relations Sohail Ahmad Raza. read more...
The world is facing yet another challenge following the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris presumed to be in response to the publication of blasphemous and defamatory caricatures of the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) in the magazine. As a reaction to the terrorist attacks, Charlie Hebdo decided to republish the caricatures which has sent a wave of anger and protests around the world. read more...
PAT chief Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri has said that we would not rest till we make those responsible for Model Town tragedy go to gallows in the Model Town case and no tactic of the rulers can make us budge even an inch from the path of justice. He said that the rulers have their contact with the terrorists and conspiracies have begun to be hatched to throw spanners in the works of military courts with an intention to frustrate them. read more...
Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) writes to WTO about Dr Tauqir Shah's role in Model Town Lahore massacre. Dr Tauqir Shah has been appointed as ambassador of Pakistan to the World Trade Organization. We write to apprise you of his unsuitability and unfortunate background of his appointment to WTO. On the 17th of June 2014 the government sent the police to carry out an armed operation at the head office of Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI) and the residence of Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri in Lahore, which continued for approximately fifteen hours. read more...
Minhaj-ul-Quran Mosque in Forest Gate has opened its doors to law enforcement officers to fight extremism. Organisers hope the open-door policy, which will see police meet the congregation at quarterly events to hear concerns, will spread to other mosques. Community liaison officer Adnan Sohail, says extremism is not an issue at Minhaj-ul-Quran – a global group renowned for its anti-terror work – but said he feels it is important to take preventative action. read more...
LAHORE: In a bid to seek justice in the Model Town case, the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) is going to re-launch its protest campaign against the PML-N government. A decision taken a couple of days ago was announced here on Tuesday. The first rally in this respect will be held in Lahore on Jan 17 where schedule for the next phase will be announced. Interestingly, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), a partner of the PAT in the Islamabad sit-it, is also going to announce on Jan 18 the next phase of its protest to seek a fair probe into alleged rigging in the 2013 general elections. read more...
PAT chief Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri has made it clear that unless foreign funding is banned, it will not be possible to eliminate terrorism. He said that foreign funding to seminaries reflects criminal negligence of successive governments that failed to discharge their responsibility for reasons of expediency and narrow interests. He said that all governments of past are equally responsible for mushroom growth of extremism and radicalism in the country. read more...
