No content in curriculum against minorities: Ashrafi

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman and Special Aide to Prime Minister on Interfaith Harmony and Middle East Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi has said the rights given to the minorities by the Constitution of Pakistan and Islamic laws cannot be disputed and there is no content in the curriculum against the minorities.

Talking to delegates of Ulema of different religious schools of thought here on Monday, he said the one-member Minority Commission did not consult Muslim scholars and respective forums before making recommendations on uniform curriculum. He said the recommendations put forward by the one-member commission have also been opposed by the National Minorities Commission.

He said the minority students have choice in curriculum with regard to read Islamic history and teachings and there is no content in the curriculum against the minorities and their respective sanctities. He said no one will be allowed to usurp the rights of the minorities in the country. He said Pakistanis' sentiments on the prevailing situation of coronavirus pandemic in India are in line with Islamic teachings.

He said that on the instructions of Prime Minister Imran khan, every effort is being made to provide protection to the minorities. “During the last six months, efforts have been made to resolve the grievances of the minorities at all possible levels,” he said, adding that a 40-member Interfaith Harmony Council is being constituted.

He said that some institutions and individuals are making baseless propaganda regarding minorities in the country, adding that instances relating to forced conversions and misuse of blasphemy laws are being restrained in the country.

Those who called on Ashrafi included Maulana Tahir Aqeel Awan, Maulana Aslam Siddiqui, Maulana Ashfaq Potafi, Allama Tahir-ul-Hassan, Qari Shams-ul-Haq, Qari Mubashir Rahimi, Maulana Aslam Qadri, Allama Zubair Abid, Pastor Aminul Khokhar and Nayyar Mushtaq.