BADIN: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) Sindh general secretary Maulana Rashid Mehmood Soomro, has condemned the terror attack on the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar and urged the government to hand over all shrines in the province to their respective custodians.

Speaking at a public meeting of his party in Kadhan town late on Monday evening, Maulana Soomro held the Sindh government responsible for a huge loss of life in the shrine blast, arguing that many precious lives were lost due to absence of proper medical and transport arrangements as well as prompt relief and rescue efforts.

It was the area of the Sindh chief minister which lacked proper emergency medicalfacilities, he said, adding that had the wounded victims been provided prompt medical and transport facilities, the death toll might have been much lower.

Maulana Soomro was of the view that custodians of the shrines of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Sachal Sarmast, Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai and other Sufi saints could look after the security and all other affairs of their respective shrines better than the Auqaf department and provincial government.

The JUI-F leader said terrorists and their facilitators should be tracked down and hanged publicly.

He also condemned the Jamshoro district administration for its poor response in the wake of the tragic incident.

He told the audience that he met the Qalandar shrine custodian, Dr Syed Mehdi Raza Shah, during his visit to the shrine onSunday and shared his concern over the administration`s callous attitude.

He noted that after the carnage, some people calling themselves `liberal` tried to fan sectarianism and communal disharmony in the country. `No doubt, many people in this province follow Sufism but they do not like secularism,` he said, adding that no Muslim sect could support terrorism or attacks on shrines as Islam is a religion of peace.

Maulana Soomro said the chief minister must step down over his failure to maintain law and order in the province, especially after such a huge loss of life. He said military courts were the need of the hour to combat terrorism but certain amendments to the Constitution were also necessary.

He said his party would resist every move against seminaries in the country, arguing that seminaries preached Islam and did notproduce terrorists.

The JUI-F leader said his party chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman would soon visit the Qalandar shrine and offer his condolences to the victims of the suicide blast.

Turning to politics, Maulana Soomro said he had invited former home minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza to either join the JUI-F or agree on joining a JUI-F-backed alliance in the 2018 elections. He said he was in contact with several political heavyweights of the province with regard to an anti-PPP alliance.

He reaffirmed his resolve to contest against PPP chairman Bilawal BhuttoZardari on any constituency.

He said the PPP promoted corruption to the extent that it had now become the biggest issue of the country. Corruption has ruined Sindh, he added.