Fawad Chaudhry under fire from clerics, netizens over CII criticism

Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry drew flak on Thursday from clerics and right-wing netizens for his criticism of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on the popular micro-blogging site Twitter.

“There are serious questions about the performance of Council of Islamic Ideology. It has failed to guide the religious segment [of society] thus far. I’m at a loss to understand why millions of rupees are spent on such an institution,” the federal minister wrote on his official Twitter handle.

Preposterous to detach science from religion: Fawad Chaudhry

“There is a need to reconstitute this institution along modern lines. Highly qualified scholars should take up its reins,” he added.

The Council of Islamic Ideology, a constitutional body of Pakistan founded in 1962, is responsible for giving legal advice on Islamic issues to the government and parliament.

A Twitter account purportedly belonging to Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai, the prayer leader at Peshawar’s Qasim Ali Khan mosque, hit back at the sci-tech minister.


“You could have said this in simpler words: Same as you have nothing to do with science and technology and your ministry needs a qualified person at the helm, the Council of Islamic Ideology, according to you, needs a highly qualified scholar,” it tweeted.

“The science and technology ministry has failed to live up to the nation’s expectations. We import everything – from heavy machinery to a needle – because we cannot manufacture, or even if we do, their quality is highly inferior. The nation should be rid of this ministry,” it said in another tweet.

کیونکہ بڑی مشینری سے لیکر ایک عام سوئی تک سب دوسرے ممالک سے منگواتے ہیں۔ہمارے ہاں یا تو بنتے نہیں،اور اگر بنے تو وہ بھی دو نمبر کی بجائے دس نمبر۔

“The performance of Council of Islamic Ideology is not unsatisfactory. It has sent more than 30,000 recommendations to parliament. Show us your performance – how many of these recommendations have been implemented,” he said in a tweet.

He went on to add: “Money hungry people have come to power for the first and last time. They want to disband all institutions and devour their funds.”

The sci-tech minister, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, was also in the headlines earlier this week when he slapped a TV anchor during the wedding ceremony of a senior politician of the ruling party for “vilifying” him on his Youtube channel.