ISLAMABAD: The minority communities of Pakistan were left stunned when one Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and popular face on TV shows called all non-Muslims ‘Kaafir’.
Ali Muhammad Khan, PTI member of the National Assembly (MNA) from Mardan, declared all non-Muslims of Pakistan as ‘Kaafir’ in a TV show. The host as well as the PPP leader, Qamar Zaman Kaira, tried to salvage the situation when the PTI MNA’s remarks were instantly confronted. However, Ali Muhammad Khan remained adamant and persisted with what he already had said.
The Central President of the Minority Wing of the PTI, Sajid Ishaq, said that the statement by Ali Muhammad Khan, whom he had always held as a very worthy party leader and a highly learned person, had gravely hurt the sentiments of the minority communities of Pakistan.
“The fact is that the minority communities of Pakistan have visibly started liking Imran Khan and his party, the PTI, for their open stance towards their problems and issues and have always been promising to treat them as equal citizens of the country,” the central president of the Minority Wing of PTI said while talking to The News here Thursday.
“This was an outrageous and uncalled for remark uttered by a respected and popular PTI leader and the members of the minority communities have felt greatly hurt. Not only did he say those words but then stubbornly stood by what he had said despite all the explanations offered by the opponents on his behalf to mitigate the pain he had inflicted and damage he had caused,” Sajid Ishaq said.
He said that he had already raised the matter with the party Chairman Imran Khan, and had explained the whole situation to him as to how badly Ali Muhammad Khan had hurt the religious sentiments of the minorities of Pakistan.
“The damage caused by Ali Muhammad Khan’s statement is not confined to the geographical borders of Pakistan but it has also damaged the party’s position at the international level. The people and the governments all over the world are bound to take these remarks seriously,” the Minority Wing chairman of the PTI told.
“Khan Sahib (Imran Khan) has already told me that Ali Muhammad Khan has taken back his words. But I think this is not enough. The minority communities are badly hurt. They are angry and their support for PTI has started wavering. The minority community supporters of PTI were never expecting such a cruel remark from one of the party’s popular leaders. Other parties are already out there to exploit the situation and win over their support,” Sajid Ishaq said.
“A closed-door apology or taking his words back in a telephonic conversation with the party chairman is not going to appease members of the minority communities all over the country. Ali Muhammad Khan, who indeed is a learned person, should have the grace to accept the mistake he has made in one of these TV shows in which he is so frequently appearing and should tender an apology to the minority communities for hurting their religious sentiments,” Sajid Ishaq said.
“It’s human to err and he should show the courage to accept that he has made a mistake. A mistake that has badly hurt millions of non-Muslim Pakistanis. A public clarification and an apology by Ali Muhammad Khan will not hurt him but will only prove his mettle,” Sajid Ishaq said.
Published in the XReports.net, on November 14th, 2014 | The News
