Ashrafi urges parties to avoid use of religion for politics

LAHORE: Special Representative to Prime Minister on Interfaith Harmony and Middle East and Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi has urged all parties to avoid use of religion for politics.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, he asked Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan that he might continue politics as he wished, but he must consult any religious scholar before discussing religion.

He alleged that Imran Khan had told lies and was misleading his followers. He said that reconciliation was a viable solution to all political disputes. Commenting on the visit of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to India, Ashrafi said he did not go to Goa on the invitation of India, adding that he went there on the invitation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

He appreciated the foreign minister for his successful tour and said that Bilawal had bravely presented Pakistan’s stance on Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir to the Indian media. He said the Indian government and its foreign minister got frustrated, which was proof of Bilawal Bhutto’s success. He said that Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir had already expressed the stance of the army on Kashmir in his address at the Kakul Academy a couple of days ago.