Persisting mistrust: Discord spoils Pak-Afghan clerics huddle
Allama Tahir Ashrafi objects to joint statement; threatens to boycott Kabul conference.
“There was no decision about the conference date and it was decided that a date would be finalised at another meeting of clerics from both countries in Kabul on February 21,” says Ashrafi. PHOTO: INP
ISLAMABAD:
A huddle of Pakistani and Afghan clerics was virtually spoiled when a key participant walked away in a huff.
Allama Tahir Ashrafi, the chairman of Pakistan Ulema Council, threatened on Monday that they would boycott an upcoming conference of Pakistani and Afghan religious scholars if the Afghan side did not honour the decisions of their meeting.
Monday’s meeting was convened to finalise date and agenda of the proposed conference scheduled for next month in the Afghan capital.
Appearing at a news conference with Afghan clerics after the meeting, Mufti Abu Hurriara Muhiuddin announced that the two sides agreed to hold the conference on March 10 in Kabul.
However, Allama Ashrafi strongly differed.
“There was no decision about the conference date and it was decided that a date would be finalised at another meeting of clerics from both countries in Kabul on February 21,” Ashrafi told reporters after the press conference.
“We took some decisions in today’s meeting but they later changed those decisions. If they keep on changing unanimous decisions then we will be forced to boycott the conference,” he said referring to Afghan religious scholars.
According to Allama Ashrafi, the meeting decided that the conference would not issue fatwas against anyone but the joint statement did not mention the word fatwa. “It seems that they are bent upon issuing a decree against the Taliban,” he claimed.
Allama Ashrafi said the meeting also decided to invite the Afghan Taliban to the conference – but that was also omitted from the joint statement. “We are willing to travel to Kabul for peace and stability but the Afghan Ulema want to use the conference for their personal gains,” he added.
Chairman of the Afghanistan Council of Religious Scholars Qayamuddin Kashaf, who led an eight-member delegation at Monday’s talks, was scheduled to appear at the joint press conference but his absence triggered a guessing game.
An hour-long delay was also due to differences, sources said.
“The Afghanistan and Pakistan Ulema Joint Conference will be held in Kabul in March 2013 with the participation of 500 Ulema, 250 from each country,” read the joint statement.
“The conference will be focused on peace and stability of all Islamic Ummah in addition to the situation of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The conference will not be in support or against anyone, any group but it will be in the light of Islamic principles.”
A member of the Afghan delegation, Attaullah Ludin, was satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. “The Pakistan government should fulfill its commitments to the promotion of peace in Afghanistan,” Ludin told The Express Tribune.
Asked why top Pakistani politico-religious leaders stayed away from the meeting, he said, “It was preliminary talks and the next meeting will discuss details.”
The Karzai government has pinned high hopes on the proposed conference as it wants religious backing for a nascent peace process in his country, or at least a joint stance against suicide bombings.
The conference was previously scheduled to be held by end January but was rescheduled for February as the two countries were not prepared, according to the Afghan Ambassador in Islamabad, Umer Daudzai.
Afghan sources told The Express Tribune that the Afghan side has requested for meetings with JUI-F chief Maulna Fazlur Rehman, Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Syed Munawar Hasan and JUI-S head Maulana Samiul Haq.
Haq also stayed away from the conference and his secretary told The Express Tribune that he was busy in organisational matters in Punjab.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 12th, 2013.
A huddle of Pakistani and Afghan clerics was virtually spoiled when a key participant walked away in a huff.
Allama Tahir Ashrafi, the chairman of Pakistan Ulema Council, threatened on Monday that they would boycott an upcoming conference of Pakistani and Afghan religious scholars if the Afghan side did not honour the decisions of their meeting.
Monday’s meeting was convened to finalise date and agenda of the proposed conference scheduled for next month in the Afghan capital.
Appearing at a news conference with Afghan clerics after the meeting, Mufti Abu Hurriara Muhiuddin announced that the two sides agreed to hold the conference on March 10 in Kabul.
However, Allama Ashrafi strongly differed.
“There was no decision about the conference date and it was decided that a date would be finalised at another meeting of clerics from both countries in Kabul on February 21,” Ashrafi told reporters after the press conference.
“We took some decisions in today’s meeting but they later changed those decisions. If they keep on changing unanimous decisions then we will be forced to boycott the conference,” he said referring to Afghan religious scholars.
According to Allama Ashrafi, the meeting decided that the conference would not issue fatwas against anyone but the joint statement did not mention the word fatwa. “It seems that they are bent upon issuing a decree against the Taliban,” he claimed.
Allama Ashrafi said the meeting also decided to invite the Afghan Taliban to the conference – but that was also omitted from the joint statement. “We are willing to travel to Kabul for peace and stability but the Afghan Ulema want to use the conference for their personal gains,” he added.
Chairman of the Afghanistan Council of Religious Scholars Qayamuddin Kashaf, who led an eight-member delegation at Monday’s talks, was scheduled to appear at the joint press conference but his absence triggered a guessing game.
An hour-long delay was also due to differences, sources said.
“The Afghanistan and Pakistan Ulema Joint Conference will be held in Kabul in March 2013 with the participation of 500 Ulema, 250 from each country,” read the joint statement.
“The conference will be focused on peace and stability of all Islamic Ummah in addition to the situation of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The conference will not be in support or against anyone, any group but it will be in the light of Islamic principles.”
A member of the Afghan delegation, Attaullah Ludin, was satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. “The Pakistan government should fulfill its commitments to the promotion of peace in Afghanistan,” Ludin told The Express Tribune.
Asked why top Pakistani politico-religious leaders stayed away from the meeting, he said, “It was preliminary talks and the next meeting will discuss details.”
The Karzai government has pinned high hopes on the proposed conference as it wants religious backing for a nascent peace process in his country, or at least a joint stance against suicide bombings.
The conference was previously scheduled to be held by end January but was rescheduled for February as the two countries were not prepared, according to the Afghan Ambassador in Islamabad, Umer Daudzai.
Afghan sources told The Express Tribune that the Afghan side has requested for meetings with JUI-F chief Maulna Fazlur Rehman, Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Syed Munawar Hasan and JUI-S head Maulana Samiul Haq.
Haq also stayed away from the conference and his secretary told The Express Tribune that he was busy in organisational matters in Punjab.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 12th, 2013.