Dr Qibla Ayaz, the former dean Faculty of Islamic and Oriental Studies of the University of Peshawar, was appointed the chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) by the law ministry on Friday, DawnNews reported.

Sahibzada Sajidur Rehman, Khursheed Nadeem, Hafiz Fazlur Rahim and Allah Bakhsh Kalyar were among the newly appointed members of the CII.

Maulana Raghib Hussain Naimi, Qari Abdur Rashid, Ghulam Hussain Sialwi, Pir Rooh-ul-Hasnain Moin and Allama Arif Hussain Wahidi were also appointed as members of the body.

President Mamnoon Hussain has approved the appointments of the new chairman and members who have been appointed for a tenure of three years. According to rules of the council, at least four meetings of the CII are mandatory during a year and a quorum of seven members is imperative to call a meeting.

The council consists of 20 members. 10 members of the body had completed their tenure last year. Reportedly, a list of 30 nominations had been forwarded to the prime minister through Ministry of Law and Justice for finalising names of the new members.