SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday appealed to Islamic scholars and clerics in the state to show the right path to people and stop preaching jihad in mosques.
“Islam is a religion of peace, which laid down guidelines not for Muslims alone but for entire humanity, and even for flora and fauna. Islam has laid ample emphasis on seeking knowledge and the ulemas (scholars) should spread this message so that Muslims are able to get out of the difficulties they are in for quite some time,” Mehbooba said while addressing a gathering of clerics and religious scholars in Srinagar.
“There are no shortcuts to paradise. Picking up a gun won’t take anyone to paradise. Paradise lies at the feet of parents,” she said, indirectly referring to youth who are taking up arms to wage “jihad”.
Mehbooba appealed to clerics and scholars to come forward and help the younger generation by showing them the right path as given in the Quran and the teachings of Prophet Mohammad.
The CM’s statement comes after six militants of Nusrat Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH), an Al Qaeda affiliate in Kashmir, were killed by security forces in the past week. Four of the six militants were locals. The AGH is influenced by pan-Islamic ideology.
J&K government sacks doctor over Facebook post
In the first such case, the Jammu and Kashmir government has sacked a doctor for posting an anti-government comment on Facebook. An official spokesman said the services of Dr Amit Kumar, Registrar of the Department of Anaesthesia at Government Medical College Jammu, had been terminated after he violated rules that prevent government employees from using social media to write anti-government posts. Kumar had been hired on contract on September 1, 2017 for three years.
“He used his personal social media account (Facebook) and commented with the intent of provoking readers,” said the official order. Kumar is the first government employee to face the axe under rules that bar an employee from writing against the government. Last December, the government had issued guidelines to regulate the use of social media by its employees.