PESHAWAR: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that extortionists have started targeting ulema in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after receiving extortion money from the government officers and traders.
Talking to mediapersons at the party secretariat here on Thursday, he said: “Ulema have been receiving threatening chits from extortionists, asking them to pay Bhatta or face consequences.”
Expressing concern over the law and order situation in Peshawar and other parts of the province, the JUI-F chief said that initially businessmen and officials were asked to pay extortion money, but now ulema were also receiving similar threats. He said that people had started shifting their families and investment from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, especially Peshawar, to Punjab and other areas of the country due to insecurity.
Without mentioning militants, he said that so-called preachers of Islam had been killing people for the last many years and now they were demanding extortion money. “Nobody is safe in society, including the religious leaders,” he said.
Mr Rehman alleged that some forces had brought Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf into power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to weaken Islamic values among Pakhtuns and promote western culture. He claimed that western countries were supporting the provincial government for their vested interests. Followers of the west are trying to defame Islam, he said.
The JUI-F chief condemned attacks on educational institutions and demanded of the government to ensure security of teachers and students. He said that the government should provide resources to the universities and other educational institutions to prevent attacks.http://www.dawn.com/news/1238924/extortionists-now-targeting-ulema-says-fazl
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