KARACHI - Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has decided to organise the Ulema convention to promote sectarian harmony and tolerance in the country and to foil the attempts of anti-Pakistan forces to spread the sectarian violence in the country, TheNation has learnt here.
The Ulema convention will be held on September 1 (tomorrow) at Jinnah Ground. The MQM has invited more than 5,000 religious scholars, clerics, Mashaikhs, and Zakareens in the convention to promote the religious harmony and brotherhood among the different religious school of thoughts. The informed sources said that the party has not invited the members and leaders of banned outfits involved in the sectarian violence in the country because the major objective of the conference is to eliminate the gaps and differences among the different schools of thoughts. When contacted MQM coordination committee senior member Waseem Aftab, he informed TheNation that they had decided to organise the Ulema convention to promote sectarian harmony in the country. He added that the consecutive incidents of sectarian killings of the innocent people were a conspiracy to destabilise the country.
Referring to the remarks of MQM chief Altaf Hussain that “it was a historical reality that the founder of Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah belonged to the Khoja Twelver Shia sect and Pakistan was founded with the sacrifices of all people,” he said that MQM has decided to organise the Ulema convention on the directives of Altaf Hussain to foil the ongoing conspiracy of sectarian violence in the country. He held that the clerics and Mashaikhs from all religious school of thoughts had been invited in the September 1 Convention of MQM.
He hoped that the thousands of clerics, scholars, Mashaikhs, and Zakareen who are against the terrorism and extremism will attend the convention. Waseem Aftab said that it was his foremost effort to stop killings of innocent people based on religious beliefs and persuasion, adding that Altaf was the first leader in the country, who raised the voice against the killings of innocent people in the name of religion. He said Mr Hussain was raising voice to end hatred, prejudices and MQM would continue to do so without any fear of repercussions, adding that MQM was against killings of innocent people due to any reason. The MQM coordination committee member said that Altaf Hussain had always striven for building unity between the Shias and the Sunnis and had worked for sectarian harmony.
Meanwhile, MQM chief Altaf Hussain on Wednesday phoned eminent religious scholars Ruet-e-Hilal Committee’s Chairman Mufti Muneebur Rehman and enquired about the health of his son Ziaur Rehman who is admitted to Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi.
Altaf during his telephonic conversation with Mufti Muneeb expressed his concern over the illness of the latter’s son and prayed to Almighty Allah for his early recovery. The MQM chief also appealed to all the countrymen to pray for his son’s early recovery.
Mufti Rehman thanked the MQM chief for enquiring about his son’s health and also prayed for the health of Altaf Hussain.