Pakistan : Clerics issue fatwa against coming down from hilltops
Daily Times, Pakistan ^ | November 09, 2005 | Iqbal Khattak
dailytimes.com.pk
BALAKOT: Clerics in Allai area of Battagram have reportedly issued a fatwa forbidding people from descending the hilltop and a federal minister on Tuesday warned that 50,000 people or more in the Allai area could die if they do not come down.
The people of Allai have so far not descended from the hilltop and their reluctance largely stems from a reported fatwa by some local clerics that it was un-Islamic to flee from a disaster zone. Another reason for people refusing to come down to live in the tent villages in the valley was the fear of local politicians that they might lose potential voters if the people decided to quit the area for good.
“The lives of 40,000 to 50,000 people are at stake. They will freeze to death if they continue to stay on the hilltop,” said Engineer Amir Muqqam, the state minister for water and power, while talking to Daily Times after visiting the earthquake areas to review the ongoing relief operations in Balakot. Bad weather interrupted the helicopter visit of the minister, where he was scheduled to meet the quake survivors in order to persuade them to descend.
“What makes me worry most is that the Allai people are still reluctant to come down,” he said. “They cannot live through the harsh cold weather in the donated tents,” the minister said.
“There is a lot of negative propaganda in the area,” Muqqam said. The minister said that he had made all efforts to allay the fears of the people but he was only partially successful in his efforts. |
