News
Monday, November 12, 2012
Tahir Ashrafi elected Pakistan Ulema Council chairman
* Maulana Zahid Mahmood Qasmi chosen general secretary of the organisation
Staff Report
LAHORE: Central Majlis-e-Shora of the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) on Sunday elected Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi as its central chairman and Maulana Zahid Mahmood Qasmi as general secretary.
The elections for the slots were held in a meeting that was held at the Pakistan Ulema Council Office and largely attended by religious clerics from across the country. An estimated two thousand members of the council participated in the election and elected their leaders through secret balloting. According to the announcement about the election results of the council, Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi and Sahibzada Zahid Mahmood Qasmi have been elected for the offices of chairman and general secretary unanimously. Addressing the participants after the election, the newly elected chairman and general secretary expressed their gratitude to the ulema and pledged to highlight true image of Islam in the world. The PUC also made an announcement to celebrate the Ashra-e-Farooq-o-Hussain across the country from the 1st to 10th of Muharram.
Condemning the escalating sectarian killings in the country, the council expressed great concern and expressed complete solidarity with the martyred ulema, students of religious centres and the citizens of Karachi and asked the government take notice of deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi. The council also decided that a high-level delegation of ulema would hold meetings with all the political as well as religious parties in the country to restore peace and religious harmony. The Pakistan Ulema Council declared as startling the escalating tension among the institutions of the state and urged upon all the stakeholders to work within their constitutional limits, noting it was the only way out from the difficult situation the country was in and to continue the democratic system. Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi in his address expressed concern over the situation in Balochistan and tribal areas and demanded of the government start negotiation process with both the tribal and Balochistan people for the restoration of peace in the respective areas.
Ashrafi said that military operations were not the solution to the deteriorating situation, and instead aggravated the problem. The meeting of the PUC, through a resolution, asked the government to immediately stop raids on the madarassas and said if the government had any grievances then it must ask the authorities in the madarassas to redress them. The meeting also decided that ulema conventions would be arranged across the country and first of the series would be held in Islamabad.
The meeting of the PUC was attended among others by Maulana Abdur Reshid Ansari, Hafiz Muhammad Amjad, Maulana Khalid Mahmood Qasmi, Maulani Numan Hashir, Maulana Naseeruddin, Maulana Abdur Rehman Mahmood, Maulana Umar Jawad Qasmi, Maulana Umar Farooq Jami, Qari Mahboob Urrehman, Maulana Intizar Ahmed Qasmni, Hafiz Muhammad Abu Bakar, Qari Muhammad Abid, Maulana Azam Farooq, Allam Shabbir Ahmed Usmani, Maulana Talha Abid, Maulana Yusaf Hassan. The management and employees of Daily Times congratulate Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi on his election as the Pakistan Ulema Council chairman and wish him luck in his efforts to promote sectarian harmony and peace in the country.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk