Top clerics scramble to land seats on advisory body

Law ministry official says 31 names sent to PM office; influential people establish direct links

ISLAMABAD: Influential religious scholars from across the country have begun muscling their way into acquiring a seat on the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) upon the retirement of 10 members of the advisory body, it emerged on Saturday.

A senior official of the council told The Express Tribune that seven members retired on January 22 and three will retire on March 2.

The council is a constitutional body which offers recommendation to parliament regarding Islamic laws.



Currently, Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani of JUI-F is the chairman of the 20-member body. Members are handpicked by the PM Office for appointment on the council for a period of three years.

The offer of a lucrative salary package and the perks of protocol, expensive cars, staff and such allure Ulema from all schools of thought to vie for a seat on the council, an official of the CII said on the condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to the media.

The official said that the CII and the ministries of religious affairs and law and justice have sent recommendations to the prime minister, the competent authority for appointments on the council.

The apex body of seminaries, Wafaqul Madaris, and the President House, too, have sent names to the PM office for appointment on CII.

When contacted, Law and Justice Secretary Muhammad Raza Khan said the ministry has forwarded a list of 31 religious scholars to the PM Office. However, Raza Khan claimed he was not aware of the influential scholars using contacts to get on CII. “Obviously, many are interested for this post, but I don’t know their names,” he said. Influential people directly approach the PM Office and it is not necessary that only the law ministry’s list would be considered for appointments on CII, he said.



Prominent names

Prominent among the names sent to PM include Professor Sahibzada Sajidur Rehman, former director Dawah Academy, who is relative of Raja Zafarul Haq, senior leader of PML-N and Leader of the House in the Senate.

Interestingly, Professor Sahibzada Sajidur Rehman, when contacted claimed that he did not know who placed his name in this list.

Other high-profile Ulema recommended for appointment on CII include Dr Raghib Hussain Naeemi, director of Jamia Naeemia, Lahore, Senator Hafiz Hamdullah, of JUI-F, Qari Muhammad Hanif Jalandhari, Secretary General, Ittehad-i-Tanzeemat-i-Madaris-i-Deenia, Habibur Rehman Sheikh, who is additional secretary ministry of law and justice, and Maulana Abdul Wasay, senior leader of JUI- F. Also among these scholars is the name of Mufti Saeed Jan, who performed the short-lived Nikah of PTI chief Imran Khan.

The seven CII members who retired in January are Mufti Ghulam Mustafa Rizvi, Syed Seed Ahmed Shah, Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, Allama Ibrahim Qadri, Pir Abdul Baqi and Dr Farida Siddiqui. The three members retiring on March 2 include Allama Amin Shaheedi, Maulana Fazal Ali and Dr Idrees Soomro.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2016.