Jhelum, Punjab; July 14, 2023: We issued an Immediate Release on July 15 on the above incident. We reproduce the same as part of this monthly report.
It is noteworthy and must be placed on record that the Punjab authorities undertook this sacrilege a week after the following important pronouncement of the statutory body, National Commission for Human Rights:
HRCP, an independent prestigious human rights commission was quick to take notice of this incident in Jhelum, and tweeted the following on July 17, 2023:
iTranslation of the threat message by Asim Ashfaq of TLP: “The DPO Jehlum (District Police Officer) and the Jhelum administration have a twenty-day deadline to demolish the minarets of the worship place in Kala Gujran. If they fail to do so, then, God willing, on the 10th of Muharram, precisely on the 21st day from today, the devoted servants of the Holy Prophet will gather at 10 o’clock in Yaadgar Chowk. They will march while chanting slogans and remove those signs with their own hands.”
The ANI, in its update on this incident on July 17, added the following rather suggestively: “Meanwhile, the TLP has stated that they had informed the police about their sentiments in accordance with the Constitution and law, and the police took action on their own, adding that no individual took the law into their own hands. (ANI)”
