LAHORE: Irked by a statement attributed to Wajid Shamsul Hassan about the Ahmedis, members of the Punjab Assembly on Thursday demanded with one voice action against the former high commissioner to UK.

They also submitted a joint resolution on the issue with the assembly secretariat which is likely to be taken up on Friday (today).

Immediately after start of the House proceedings on Wednesday, treasury MPA Waheed Gul took the floor on a point of order and read out Mr Hassan`s statement carried by a local Urdu daily and said that it hurt feelings of hundreds of thousands of Muslims.

He demanded action against the exenvoy under the National Action Plan, warning the government that the situation could get out of control if the issue was left unaddressed.

Maulana Ilyas Chinioti, another ruling party member, said the former high commissioner not onlyinsulted the 1970s National Assembly that had declared Ahmedis as nonMuslims but also billions of Muslims worldwide.

PTPs Mian Aslam Iqbal demanded all perks and privileges granted to Mr Hassan as former envoy should be withdrawn at once, while PPP`s Qazi Ahmed Saeed sought the strictest punishment for him.

Deputy Speaker Sardar Sher Ali Khan, who was chairing the session, asl
The resolution, submitted jointly by MPAs of various political parties in the afternoon, condemns the statement and recommends the federal government to withdraw all the honors conferred on Wajid Shamsul Hassan for stating that former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto`s decision of declaring Ahmedis as nonMuslims under pressure of the religious parties was wrong.

It also sought that the party (PPP) he belongs to should disown him and that the statement be taken as blasphemous and treason and he shouldbe tried under the charges.

The resolution also pays homage to former prime minister Bhutto and leaders of all political parties (that had supported the constitutional amendment of declaring the Ahmedis as non-Muslims) of that time.

Contacted by phone, Mr Hassan told Dawn that he believed that Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) is the last prophet and a benefactor of all the humanity and that he never stated that Mirza Mirza Ghulam Ahmed Qadiani was a prophet.

Explaining the context of his statement, he said that PPP-led National Assembly had taken the decision of declaring Ahmedis as non-Muslims `in haste` and `under pressure`.

He said he could not say Bhutto committed any wrong for he considered the late prime minister as his great leader.

Recalling that the Khatme Nabuwat Commissionheadedby JusticeMunir could not have finalized even a unanimous definition of a `Muslim`, he said the Muslim Umma seemed divided everywhere which it must not and he had spoken against this divide.