ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain asked ulema and scholars on Sunday to play a proactive role in promoting ethical values, tolerance, brotherhood and coexistence in society.

He said ulema should preach against curses of corruption and bribery in their speeches.

He expressed these views during a sitting with ulema and religious scholars on the topic “lack of ethical values and corruption” at Aiwan-i-Sadr, said a press release.

Mr Hussain said it was the national responsibility of religious scholars and Mashaikhs to emphasise the importance of unity, forbearance and harmony in the country.

The president said dark forces were bent upon denting the unity in society through their hideous designs and underscored the need for collectively defeating the negative mindset, adding that religious scholars could play an important role in this regard. He asked ulema to propagate inter- faith harmony.

The moral values has weakened over the years and social evils like greed, bribery and corruption have gained grounds, he observed and called upon clerics to reverse the tide in the light of Islamic guidelines.

He reiterated that the government was committed to weeding out the disease of corruption from the country.

Those who attended the sitting included Mufti Muneebur Rehman, Maulana Raghib Hassan Naeemi, Mufti Athar Naeemi, Maulana Mufti Sher Khan, Maulana Ziaul Haq Naqshbandi, Pir Syed Naqeebur Rehman, Mufti Mohammad Haseeb Qadri, Maulana Ahmed Ali Qasuri, Mufti Mohammad Kareem Khan, Khawaja Pir Ghulam Qutabdin, Pir Ahmad Fazeel Khan, Maulana Jehangir Mehmood, Mufti Rafi Usmani, Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, Qari Roohullah Madni, Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad, Qari Mohammad Hanif Jalandhri, Maulana Mohammad Salfi, Allama Ibtisam Ilahi Zaheer, Allama Talib Johri, Maulana Syed Shahenshah Hussain Naqvi, Qazi Syed Niaz Hussain Naqvi, Allama Nauman Saqib Akbar and Dr Hafiz Ehsanul Haq.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2015

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