KARACHI: Twenty-three Ulema belonging to the Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan yesterday pronounced a “decision” that a female could not hold an important office like that of President or Khalifa in an Islamic State. The decision, which was made known at a Press conference addressed by Maulana Abdul Hamid Badayuni, said that there had never been any two opinions on this fundamental issue amongst the Ulema.

The statement asked Mohtarama Miss Fatima Jinnah to reconsider her decision and not to take any step which would endanger the solidarity and stability of the country. The Ulema expressed surprise that Chaudhri Mohammad Ali, Convener of the Nizam-i-Islam Party, had supported the nomination of Miss Fatima Jinnah, though during his prime ministership it was decided that women should be debarred from becoming president of the country. The signatories to the statement included Maulana Abdul Hamid Badayuni, Maulana Syed Nasir Jalali, Maulana Ghulam Quader Kashmiri, Maulana Mohammad Mohsin, Maulana Mohammad Nawaz Khan, Maulana Syed Masood and Maulana Arif Shah Quaderi. Maulana Badayuni declared in Karachi yesterday that the nomination of Miss Fatima Jinnah was un-Islamic.

Published in Dawn, September 27th , 2014