[BETA.DAWN] Pak holy mans, belonging to different schools of thought of Islam, Thursday declared that casting votes during general elections is not un-Islamic at all but is a 'religious obligation' for all Moslems, DawnNews reported.Speaking at a presser in Islamabad, Pakistain Ulema Council (PUC) Chairman Allama Tahir Ashrafi said that feudal lords forbid women to cast their votes and not Islam. He said politics is not a 'forbidden fruit' in the religion.
"After evolving a consensus among different muftis (holy mans), we issue this fatwa (edict) that casting vote is a Shariah obligation and it is prohibited not to do so," said Ashrafi.
Ruling out the perception that Moslem women are prohibited to use their voting rights, he said the religion does not discourage females to cast votes but feudal lords do.
The decree is issued in the wake of terrorist threats of sabotaging the historic May 11 polls -- the first transition between democratically elected governments in a country that has a history of military coups.
The outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) also has distributed pamphlets on Thursday in Buner, Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
and different areas of Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
warning citizens not to participate in the upcoming elections.
Speaking to Dawn.com, Pak Taliban front man Ehsanullah Ehsan said that democracy was un-Islamic and was the agenda of secular forces in the country due to which they were opposed to it.