New Delhi: Religious parties in Pakistan threaten to disrupt a marathon in Lahore on January 14 in which men and women will run together. The event is against Islam, the parties say.
Religious party activists protested last year when gender no bar events had been planned.
The organiser for the marathon, Tauseef Ahmed, said he hoping everything would go smoothly as it was just a sports competition and a fun event for families.
The 42-kilometre race was for professionals and 54 participants, both and female, had already registered for it from different countries, including Kenya and Ethopia.
The marathon is supported by the task force of Punjab province's Chief Minister.
The event includes a ten-kilometre and five-kilometre race for families, said the organiser.
In April 2005, 70 participants of a mixed marathon, which was held in Gujranwala, were attacked by religious activists followed by similar assaults on leading human rights supporters by police in Lahore in May when they tried to hold a symbolic mixed race to protest the Gujranwala incident.
The first race which was held in February, 2005 went off smoothly but resulted in clashes when such events were planned in other cities of Punjab, including Gujranwala.
After that, the Punjab government called off the other scheduled events. President Pervez Musharraf defended the U-turn from the provincial government, saying that many in the Pakistani society were not yet ready to see both sexes running together.
However, the Government has assured full cooperation and support to the organisers this time, an official said.
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