LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday condemned the recent mob attack on Ahmedi worship place in Sialkot, while the party also claimed that the local leadership was unaware of the instigator, Hamid Raza.
On Thursday, an angry group led by alleged PTI member Hamid Raza attacked the worship place and tore it to the ground. Videos capturing the brutal act of violence went viral on social media.
Another video surfaced, meanwhile, which showed Raza thanking the Tehsil Municipal Authority (TMA), DPO Sialkot and the District Commissioner for allowing the mob to attack the site.
Although the PTI leadership said it was unaware of Hamid Raza as party member, the social media is abuzz with photographs and video footages that show Hamid in close proximity to PTI chief Imran Khan.
One Twitter user, Fahad Desmukh, shared a picture, from what appears to be Hamid Raza’s Facebook page, in which Raza can be seen sitting next to Imran Khan and senior leader Jahangir Tareen.
. @ImranKhanPTI seated next to Hamid Raza, the leader of the violent mob that just destroyed the Ahmadi mosque in Sialkot last night https://t.co/A42Ksp1Upr pic.twitter.com/VUhDAwQEpU
— Fahad Desmukh (@desmukh) May 24, 2018
In another image shared by the same user, Hamid Raza can be seen receiving an award from the PTI Chief.
Another photo of @ImranKhanPTI giving an award to Hamid Raza, the guy who led the violent mob which attacked the Ahmadi mosque in Sialkot yesterday. (via @gypsy_heart6) https://t.co/kvir5ZLQ8h pic.twitter.com/fCVdkjYoUa
— Fahad Desmukh (@desmukh) May 24, 2018
Moreover, in a Twitter message shared by PTI Sialkot leader Umer Dar in 2015, Hamid could be seen in the pictures.
Today, Sahibzada Hamid Raza & Hafiz Muhammad Raza have joined PTI. This is a great boost to our strength in Sialkot pic.twitter.com/XzW7Ok7p30
— Umer Dar (@UmerPTIOfficial) September 22, 2015
Twitter user Ehsan Rehan also shared a picture of Hamid Raza and Imran Khan.
PTI Candidate Hafiz Hamid Raza lead the mob which destroyed the #Ahmadiyya Mosque in #Sialkot pic.twitter.com/d13wKui3aZ
— Ehsan (@Ehzan) May 24, 2018
PTI Spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry, however, has condemned the attack and said that such things must not happen in the country.
Chaudhry also held the state responsible for the violence, saying, “It is always the state’s responsibility to ensure the protection of minority communities’ holy sites.”
“No mob should have the right to instigate violence against a religious community,” the PTI spokesperson added.
Fawad Chaudhry also said that Muslims attacking religious minorities in Pakistan was reminiscent of Narendra Modi’s chauvinist Hindu followers, who were subjecting Muslims in India to similar violence.
“Do we want the World to compare Muslims in Pakistan to chauvinist Hindus in India?” Chaudhry questioned.
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