PESHAWAR: Speakers at a reference organised to recognise the academic services of Dr Qibla Ayaz, former dean Faculty of Islamic and Oriental Studies of the University of Peshawar (UoP), praised his tolerant nature to resolve issues through dialogue.

They said that the hallmark of Dr Ayaz, currently working as acting vice-chancellor of Islamia College University, was that he would always interpret the teachings of Islam in a way to make easier for the youth to understand the challenges confronted by the Muslim world.

The reference was organised under the aegis of the UoP’s Institute of Islamic and Arabic Studies.

UoP VC Prof Rasul Jan, Kohat university VC Prof Nasir Jamal Khattak, Malakand university VC Prof Johar Ali, Swat university VC Prof Mohammad Jehanzeb and faculty members attended the function, according to a UoP press release.

Dr Ayaz has always struggled for promotion of inter-faith and inter-cult harmony so that mutual differences could be resolved through dialogue while finding a tangible solution to it at the same time, said director Institute of Islamic and Arabic Studies Prof Mirajul Islam Zia.

He said that colleagues of Dr Ayaz felt proud of him being the first Islamic Studies scholar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who made it to the post of VC of one of the highest seats of learning in KP.

Dr Ayaz said that the mother institution – the University of Peshawar – was his identity and had earned him honor and respect in the world.

He reiterated his resolve to further the cause of higher education and strive for academic reforms in Islamia College University.

The VCs of other universities also praised Dr Ayaz for his academic services, saying that he was an academician who knew the demands of the globalised world and was successful in bridging the gap between religious scholars and modern researchers.