Is govt’s Seerat Chair initiative new?

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan last week announced a project that has already been partly implemented during the previous government.

According to official news agency, the prime minister last Tuesday directed the Chairman Higher Education Commission Tariq Binori to work out the plan for establishment of Seerat Chair in three major universities of the country.

However, it turned out that a project to establish Seerat Chairs at nine Pakistani universities have already been approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) in October 2014 at a cost of Rs189.98 million.

After the approval of the PC-1 of the project, the first Chair was established in University of Peshawar with Dr Qibla Ayaz as its Chairman in 2016. Dr Ayaz, a former senior professor of the University of Peshawar, joined the HEC on October 19, 2016 as the head of the Seerat Chair – Inter Faith and Communal Harmony on a two-year contract. Dr Ayaz was appointed two years after the project was given an administrative go-ahead by the HEC. Dr Ayaz is currently serving as Chairman of Council of Islamic Ideology (CII).

When contacted by The News, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Media Iftikhar Durrani said Seerat Chair was a new initiative.

When he was told that PC-1 was approved in 2014 and a Chair was established in Peshawar University in 2016 with Qibla Ayaz as it head, he said the former chairman HEC may be mistaken. “Qibla Ayaz was dean of Islamic Studies Department in Peshawar University and not the head of Seerat Chair,” he said. He said the Seerat Chair project was the initiative of the PTI government.

However, when contacted by The News Qibla Ayaz confirmed that he remained head of Seerat Chair in Peshawar University. A spokesperson of HEC Dr Ayesha confirmed to this scribe that Seerat Chair was an old project which was already implemented by the Commission during the PML-N government.

The then chairman of the HEC Dr Mukhtar Ahmad told The News that the project was approved in 2014 and the budget for the project was enhanced later. He said the previous Punjab government had already allocated land for Seerat Chair in Punjab.

The former chairman HEC said nine Seerat Chairs were planned to be established under the PC-1. However, Dr Mukhtar said posts were advertised in major English and Urdu dailies thrice, but the HEC was unable to fill the remaining Chairs.

But interestingly the PTI government is still adamant that the project is a new initiative. Prime Minister Imran Khan last week held a meeting with the chairman HEC at PM Office and directed him to initiate work on Seerat Chairs in three universities, according to official news agency. The prime minister said the purpose of the Seerat Chair was to carry out a genuine research on the life and practices of the Holy Prophet (Peace be Upon Him) besides promoting the Seerat to make Muslims of Pakistan as well as the world benefit from the research.

He said the genuine research on the universal personality of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), the embodiment of all qualities, would not only provide guidance to everyone in individuals' lives but also help counter the negative propaganda against Islam.