New Mosques: Local ulema must be consulted: DCO

NOC for new mosques will not be issued without consulting a committee of local ulema and the city district government

LAHORE: No objection certificates for new mosques will not be issued without consulting a committee of local ulema and the city district government, said Lahore District Coordination Officer (DCO) Ahad Khan Cheema on Saturday. Cheema, presiding over a meeting of the district peace committee, said that the ulema committees would also be responsible for calming tensions during religious months and festivals. He said the peace committee would meet every month to discuss the law and order situation. Cheema said that during religious festivals, ulema should avoid making controversial statements about other faiths on loudspeakers, through wall chalking or literature. “Ulema should create an atmosphere of peace,” he said. He said that ulema should also identify those trying to spread discord between followers of different faiths and report them to the police.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10^th, 2011.