Daily Times

LAHORE: The Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) on Sunday held the ‘Tahafuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabowat and Pakistan Stability Conference’.

The joint declaration issued at the end of the event warned the government to make public the Raja Zafarul Haq report by February 20. “Otherwise, countrywide protests and sit-ins will be held,” it said.

More than 1,000 ulema and mashaykh from all over Punjab attended the event. The participants of the conference condemned the US President Donald Trump for his statement against Pakistan. They also rejected declaration of US administration for enlisting Pakistan into watch list in connection of religious freedom.

The conference also denounced US drone strike inside Pakistani territory and demanded the Pakistani government to maintain diplomatic relations with US on equal footings. In case of any US drone strike on Pakistan, the government should suspended aerial and inland access of US administration to Afghanistan.

Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, the PUC chairman, presided over the conference. The joint declaration said that the government should devise a cohesive and explicit mechanism to contain conspiracies of US, Israel, India and Afghanistan being carried out in Pakistan.

The joint declaration underlined that external and internal elements were targetting the belief in finality of prophethood. “The government should expose the elements who are accomplice in making amendment from electoral reforms bill,” statement said.

The joint declaration of the conference also condemned bid on part of ruling government for removing column of religious identity from CNIC. “The government should seek immediate report from National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) over this issue,” it said.

The declaration also endorsed the ‘national narrative’ against terrorism and extremism. “The national narrative published with the title of ‘Paigham-e-Pakistan has been formed by ‘Idara-e-Tahqeeqat-e-Islami’. The conference urges the government to implement the national narrative with additional reforms with proper legislation. The joint declaration also requests the chief justice of Pakistan to take suo-motu notice of killing of private college principal on allegations of blasphemy. A commission should be formed on permanent grounds to keep check on such extremist incidents,” it said.

Those present were: Maulana Mufti Hassan, Maulana Ayub Safdar, Maulana Abdul Kareem Nadeem, Maulana Abdul Hameed Watto, Maulana Muhammad Shafee Qasmi, Allama Zubair Abid, Maulana Asim Makhdoom, Maulana Usman Baig Farooqi, Maulana Faheem ul Hassan Thanvi, Haji Tayyab Shad Qadri, Maulana Asad Ullah Farooq, Maulana Muhammad Ishfaq Pittafi, Allama Usaid Ur Rehman Saeed, Maulana Abdullah Rashidi, Maulana Anwar ul Haq Mujahid, Maulana Ahmed Nadeem, Maulana Tahir Aqeel Awan, Maulana Muhammad Shakeel Qasmi, Mian Rashid Munir, Sufi Rizwan Tabbasum, Maulana Ehsan Ahmed Hussaini, Qari Shams ul Haq, Qari Mubashir Rahhimi, Maulana Islam ud Din, Maulana Muhammad Aslam Qadri, Qasim Usama, Maulana Ismael Qasmi, Maulana Saad Ullah Nadeem, Maulana Abduallah Haqani, Qari Faisal Ameen, Maulana Zahid Awan, Qari Aziz Akbar Qasmi.

Published in Daily Times, January 29^th 2018.