ISLAMABAD, Jan 18: President General Pervez Musharraf has taken notice of mass arrests made by police on various religious organisations, including mosques and madaris, despite instructions to arrest only banned extremist groups.

This was stated by a group of ulema while speaking at a news conference after a convention to explain their point of view on the newly announced electoral system.

Maulana Abdul Malik, President Jamiat Ittehad Ulema, told the newsmen that the president promised to issue fresh instructions to the police to refrain from entering mosques or take action against speakers at Friday congregations.

A group of religious scholars who attended the “Ulema and mashaikh” convention demanded that the decision to return to a joint electorate system should be withdrawn. Maulana Malik, distributed copies of a letter which the group of ulema had handed over to the president.

The letter describes the electoral reforms as “disastrous for the unity of Muslims.”

The ulema who signed the memorandum, included Mohammad Hanif Jallundhri, chief of Khairul Madaris, Multan; Maulana Mufti Abdul Qayum Hazarvi, principal Jamia Nizamia Rizvia, Lahore; Dr Mohammad Sarfaraz Naeemi, Jamia Naeemia; Dr Mufti Ghulam Sarwar Qadri, Jamia Rizvia Model Town, Lahore; Mufti Munibur Rahman, Darul Uloom Naeemia, Karachi; Ghulam Mohammad Sialvi Shamsul Uloom Karachi; Mualana Ubaidullah and others.