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LAHORE – Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Religious Harmony Maulana Tahir Ashrafi said Sunday condemned the appearance of women in advertisements saying that despite having so many good looking men in the country, the advertisers still hire women to represent their brands.
While addressing a press conference at the Punjab Institute of Quran and Seerat Studies here, Tahir Ashrafi further said that women should not be “unnecessarily featured in advertisements, he said, adding he is against such practices.
Ashrafi also shed light on other important matters and said that upon the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan is internationally combating the rise of Islamophobia. “For this purpose, the government has started reaching out to different Islamic scholars across the globe,” Ashrafi said, adding that those who have been posting blasphemous content on websites have been taken into custody.
He also talked about the growing menace of sexual crimes in the country and said that perpetrators must be sentenced to harsh punishments as these crimes cannot be ignored. “The Ulema have a role to play in eradicating obscenity, terrorism, and extremism from the country,” Ashrafi said. Also, appealed to the Muslim world leaders to play their role for peace and development in Afghanistan.
He said that stability in the region was essential for establishment of peace both in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He said that the anti-state elements were trying to create chaos in Pakistan by fanning sectarianism, but they would never succeed in their nefarious designs. He said that the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) would arrange the 5th Paigham-e-Islam conference on Feb 30, 2022 at the Islamabad Convention Centre, in which around 5,000 ulema and mashaikh would take part from all-over the world.
Ashrafi said that Imam-e-Ka’aba and Palestine’s chief qazi had also participated as chief guests in the previous four conferences. He said: “We hope for their participation in the upcoming conference as well.” He said that the conference would be arranged with an aim to make Muslim world free from Islamophobia, terrorism and sectarianism.
He said that a series of ulema and mashaikh conventions would be arranged by the PUC in various cities of the country to educate youth about Seerat-un-Nabi and to eradicate negative trend of obscenity and immorality. He urged ulema to help protect the youth through their knowledge and play their role in that regard. He said that people witnessed the Ashra Shan-e-Rehmatul-lil-Alameen was celebrated on official level and the Seerat Authority was being established to take Pakistan in the right direction and making it a welfare state like Madina. Ashrafi said that Prime Minister Imran Khan pursued the case of Namoos-e-Risalat on every national and international forum in an effective manner, adding that no other Muslim leader in the past could fight the case in that way.
He offered condolences of the death of police personnel, who scarified their lives for establishing peace in the country. He prayed for the injured police personnel and said that may Allah Almighty grant them speedy recovery. Hafiz Ashrafi said that Pakistan had always condemned the attacks on Saudi Arabia and it would always stand with the leadership and people of Saudi Arabia for its security, defence and stability. He said that the PUC also condemned the bomb blast at Kabul and armed drone attack on Iraqi prime minister in Baghdad last night.
To a question, Ashrafi said that the PUC had formed its legal committee, which would engage Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and other government bodies for eradication of obscenity in the advertisements and dramas.