LAHORE: The Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) has announced to stage nationwide protest on Friday against Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) ameer Syed Munawar Hassan’s statement calling Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud a martyr, which the council described as an act of treason.
In a statement issued last week, the JI chief Syed Munawar Hassan declared the killing of Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud in US missile strike as ‘martyrdom’, stating that Pakistan army soldiers who have rendered sacrifices in the ongoing fight could not be called ‘martyrs’ for their cooperation with the US.
The statement drew strong ire of the army which asked him to tender unconditional apology. The ISPR condemned the remarks as ‘irresponsible’ and ‘misleading’, saying that declaring the dead terrorists as shaheeds is insult of the shahadat of thousands of innocent Pakistanis and soldiers of Pakistan’s armed forces.
Moreover, various political parties including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Awami National Party (ANP) condemned the JI’s remarks urging him to take his words back.
