Hefajat fails to justify vandalism

Leaders of Hefajat-e-Islam, Chittagong yesterday failed to justify acts of vandalism on the roads carried out by the organisation's activists during the April 4 hartal.
They were speaking at the organisation's press conference in Chittagong Press Club, protesting against Women Development Policy approved by the cabinet and demanding withdrawal of cases against their leaders.
In the question-answer session, journalists questioned their fanatic attitude during the hartal.
The leaders could not answer why their activists vandalised vehicles, shops, a petrol pump and many other public and private properties.
Asked why journalists were attacked during the hartal, the leaders termed those as isolated incidents.
When questioned about children seen with sticks, they skipped the question.
They claimed that people, at large, supported the hartal. But when questioned on why people then brought out their vehicles on the road, they said, “Some people might not like our movement.”
Asked if Islam supports ransacking and fanatic activities, they said, “We believe in peaceful movement but some government collaborators might have infiltrated into our movement to tarnish our image.”
Hefazat's Joint Secretary Muchha Bin Ijhar read out a written statement on behalf of Allama Shah Ahmed Shafi, hefazat's nayeb-e-ameer, who was absent due to illness.
They threatened of tougher movements unless the government withdrew the policy, which they termed “against the Quran”.