Rawalpindi:Chief of Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Fiqh-e-Jafariya (TNFJ) Pakistan Allama Agha Syed Hussain Muqaddasi on Monday announced a 14-point Code of Mourning for Muharram-ul-Haram at the headquarters of Maktab-e-Tashayyu, saying the guidelines would ensure peace, promote inter-sect harmony, and uphold the sanctity of the homeland, says a press conference.
Speaking at a press conference, he said the code followed the vision of the sect’s spiritual leader and Quaid-i-Millat-i-Jafariya Allama Agha Syed Hamid Ali Shah Moosavi. “Imam Hussain is the benefactor of religion, Shariah and humanity. His eternal sacrifice will be commemorated through mourning observed with devotion, reverence and dignity,” he said.
Muqaddasi rejected what he called “unconstitutional anti-mourning restrictions” in the Punjab Home Department’s Standard Operating Procedures. “A believer is bound only by the commands of Almighty Allah. No unjustified or unlawful restriction on loyalty and mourning can be accepted under any circumstances,” he declared, adding that “the followers of Haider-i-Karrar will never deviate from the purpose of their creation”.
He said TNFJ would safeguard mourning “at every moment and protect the sanctity of its symbols more dearly than our own lives”. While offering cooperation with the government and administration to counter “enemies of religion and the homeland”, he stressed there could be “no compromise on the mission of Hazrat Zainab and Imam Zain-ul-Abideen as expressed through mourning”.
Explaining the code, Muqaddasi said all mourning processions would be held in accordance with the Moosavi-Junejo Agreement of 21 May 1985 and demanded the state ensure their respectful conduct as agreed. He urged the federal government to set up Muharram Control Rooms under the Ministry of Interior and at district level in all provinces, including Azad Kashmir, linked with the Muharram Committee and Azadari Cell of TNFJ.
He called for the immediate withdrawal of Punjab’s SOPs on mourning and asked authorities to stop portraying Muharram as a security threat. He also demanded full implementation of the National Action Plan without discrimination, effective curbs on banned organisations, and removal of peaceful mourners from the Fourth Schedule.
The TNFJ chief said organisers must cooperate with security institutions and use volunteers from Mukhtar Force and Ibrahim Scouts for protective arrangements. He stressed discipline, punctuality, and verification of food offerings and ‘sabeels’, and said no one should enter mourning venues without being searched. He asked the administration to issue instructions to facilitate gatherings and avoid orders that infringe constitutional rights.
Muqaddasi urged scholars to promote unity, called on all schools of thought to respect each other’s beliefs, and asked the media to highlight the sacrifices of Karbala while suspending musical programmes, dramas and entertainment shows during the first 10 days of Muharram.
