Daily Times

An awareness drive was held in the fruits and vegetables markets of the federal capital to control the sacred papers desecration on Monday.

Educating people for not using outdated newspapers carrying religious content for the packing of fruits and vegetables, All Pakistan Muqadas Auraq Union President Sheraz Ahmed Farooqui apprised the public that the district administration had imposed Section 144 to curb the desecration of the holy scripts.

In the light of Section 144, he said the commercial use of sacred messages published in the newspapers, advertisements and other means of communication was totally banned. He said the people allegedly involved in this un-Islamic practice would be tried under the Penal Code of Pakistan’s Section 295-B and could be awarded life imprisonment.

Talking to APP, Farooqui expressed satisfaction on the packing of fruits and vegetables being imported from Peshawar because the brokers of that area were using plain papers instead of old newspapers. He lamented over the packing of fruits and vegetables coming from Sindh as the brokers were using newspapers which were mostly containing the Quranic verses.

He said a plan, in consonance with Islamabad Capital Territory Administration, had been devised to crackdown in the fruits and vegetables markets for addressing this social and religious issue in a couple of days.

Expressing gratitude to the local government, he said it was providing all possible support in a bid to mitigate this problem once for all.

As per reports, this unethical exercise is in practice on a large scale in fruits and vegetables markets including Sunday bazaars. For the packing of vegetables and fruits, mostly old newspapers, having holy content, are being used by the brokers, which are later being thrown into the garbage heaps by the ultimate buyers.