Ch Parvez warns against any step contrary to ideology of Pakistan

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Religious Harmony and Chairman Mutaheda Ulema Board Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Ashrafi called on Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Parvez Elahi at his residence Friday.

Ch Parvez Elahi said any step against the ideology and thought of Pakistan would be contrary to the foundation of Pakistan and the struggle under Kalima Tayyaba flag.

The act passed by the Punjab Assembly has the signatures of all political, religious parties and minority members, so there is no threat to minorities from Islamic books and Islamic history, he added.

He said Allah is the Lord of all the worlds and the Holy Prophet ﷺ is the mercy of all the worlds. “This country is established because of Islam. Islamic teachings can never be taken out of the curriculum. How can the services of the founders of Pakistan for Islam and Muslims be extracted from the textbooks?”

Ch Parvez and Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi agreed that the recommendations of a one-member Minority Commission to remove Islamic teachings and the history of Islam from the curriculum were highly inappropriate, which could lead to chaos and disorder in the country.

Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi said that Islam is the protector of the rights of all humanity and its teachings are based on peace and security, protection of the rights of minorities is the responsibility of Islam, the constitution and the state of Pakistan but it is also important to take care of majority rights.

“If non-Muslim students do not want to study Islamic education and history, they have the option to study or not,” he said.