Tag: Noorul Haq Qadri

  • ‘Ban Aurat March’: Religious Affairs Minister tells PM Khan to allow no one ‘to mock Islamic rituals’

    ‘Ban Aurat March’: Religious Affairs Minister tells PM Khan to allow no one ‘to mock Islamic rituals’

    Federal Minister for Religious and Minority Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri has written a letter to Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan asking to put a ban on the Aurat March.

    Qadri, in a letter to the premier, wrote that March 8 should be observed as “International Hijaab Day” rather than Aurat March.

    The federal minister further stated that no one should be permitted to mock Islamic rituals, values, or the wearing of Hijaab on Women’s Day by organising Aurat March or any other event.

    It is pertinent to mention here that every year on March 8, the world observes “Women’s Day” while women activists and other organisations in Pakistan refer to this day as Aurat March.

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman, taking to Twitter and sharing the letter from the federal minister to the PM Khan regarding the ban of Aurat March, questioned: “What will you prove by banning Aurat March?”

    “International Women’s Day is named after women of all classes. International Women’s Day aims to raise awareness in the society against gender stereotypes and prejudices against women,” said the PPP leader.

    “You are conspiring to deprive women of their freedom and rights on International Women’s Day,” tweeted Rehman.

  • Three year prison sentence, fine for false moon-sighting witnesses: bill

    Three year prison sentence, fine for false moon-sighting witnesses: bill

    The moon-sighting issue in Pakistan is a socio-religious challenge as many religious events(Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha) are directly related to it. In a bid to put an end to the moon sighting controversies around key festivals like Eid, the Pakistan government is imposing a three years imprisonment and a Rs 50,000 fine for anyone who announces the false moon sighting before the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee.

    Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan introduced the Pakistan Ruet Hilal Bill 2021 on behalf of the Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Noorul Haq Qadri.

    The proposed bill mainly aims to tackle the formation of a Federal Ruet Hilal committee, led by recognised Ulema and scholars from all sects and schools of thought which has a history of announcing Eid and the start of Ramazan.

    The bill authorises only the chairperson of the federal committee or his nominee to make an announcement regarding the sighting of the moon. The bill proposes a fine of up to Rs50,000 for anyone violating the law.

    The federal committee, according to the bill, will comprise 16 members, including the chairperson. The federal committee will consist of two Ulema from each province and Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir; a grade-20 officer from Met Office, a science and technology expert and a representative of the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission and an officer of the level of director general from the Ruet Hilal Affairs division of the ministry, who will act as the secretary of the committee.

    The bill has suggested a complete ban on any other committee formed by individuals under any name for sighting of the moon for commencement of each Islamic Hijri calendar month.