Politicians condemn shoe hurling incident

LAHORE, March 11 (APP):Leaders from across the political divide Sunday condemned throwing of shoes at former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif here at Jamia Naeemia.
Shoes were hurled at Nawaz Sharif, who had arrived at Jamia Naeemia to address a ceremony marking the death anniversary of Mufti Mohammad Hussain Naeemi.
Reacting to the incident, Jamat-e-Islami Ameer Sirajul Haq said it was an unacceptable incident as the Pakistani culture did not allow such intolerance.
Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also strongly condemned the incident, which, he said, was an ugly trend threatening the respect and security of the political leaders.
Bilawal, in a statement, said the PPP was against the use of such disrespectful tactics against opponents since the very inception and would condemn in strong possible terms such incidents.
He said hurling of shoes at Nawaz Sharif and throwing ink at Khwaja Asif had exposed the security breaches, but such attempts should not discourage political leaders to have direct contact with the public.
PPP Punjab President Qamar Zaman Kaira also said the culture of lack of tolerance should not be promoted. The Lahore incident was an unethical act and no one should be allowed to express his feelings in that way, he added.
Another PPP leader Chaudhary Manzoor Ahmad said political workers should be taught to be tolerant.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, talking to newsmen at the residence of late Jam Saqi in Hyderabad, said such a violent act was against moral and Islamic values.
Ameer Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith Senator Prof Sajid Mir strongly condemned the shoe hurling incident and termed it against Islamic teachings.
Prof Sajid Mir, in a statement, said such acts impeding politicians to connect with the people and putting their security and that of religious figures at risk, were regrettable.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan said shoe throwing incidents were immoral acts, which should be discouraged en bloc by all the political parties. The unscrupulous elements involved in such unethical acts should be awarded exemplary punishment, he added..
He said politics and democracy taught tolerance and forbearance. Time was ripe to evolve an understanding on a code of ethics to avoid such acts in future, he added.
Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the incident and termed it a shameful act. The trend was devastating for the country and the nation, which had been flayed by all the politicians, he added.
The chief minister said that it was responsibility of all to move Pakistan forward in the form of a democratic and courteous society.
Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, in a statement, said throwing shoes at the former prime minister was another attack by those, who were afraid of growing popularity of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
He said attacks on Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif and now on the PML-N supreme leader were part of the opponents’ design.
He asked the political opponents to let the country move forward and do not give an opportunity to the enemy to harm it.
Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sardar Muhammad Yousaf vehemently condemned the unethical act, which, he said, would earn a bad name for the country.
Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana M Iqbal Khan strongly condemned throwing of shoes at the former prime minister, saying elements behind such incidents should be discouraged.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah while talking to media, said there was some evil design behind the incident.
“Political or non-political opponents could be involved in the incident,” he added.
Senator-elect Kamran Michael urged the political leadership to take unanimous stand to stop occurring of such incidents in future, which tarnished the country’s image internationally. It seemed a conspiracy had been hatched to damage democratic and liberal image of the Pakistani society, he added.