ISLAMABAD: Eight new members have been appointed for three years in the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), bringing the numbers to its maximum level.

The new members appointed by the President include Allama Mohamamd Raghib Hussain Naeemi, a prominent cleric belonging to Lahore and the principal of Jaamia Naeemia.

Others appointed for the three year tenure include Malik Allah Bakhsh Kulyar, who remained a member of CII earlier too, Sahibzada Pir Khalid Sultan Alqadri, Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry, Dr Abdul Ghafoor Rashid, Mohammad Jalaluddin.

The new technical experts in Islamic jurisprudence is retired Justice Altaf Ibrahim Qureshi and Fareeda Raheem has been appointed at one mandatory seat reserved for female technical expert.

There has to be a minimum of eight members and a maximum of 20 members including the chairman in the CII representing various schools of thought, having knowledge of the principles and philosophy of Islam.

At the time of appointment one of the key consideration includes the understanding of economic, political, legal or administrative problems of Pakistan.

Currently the chairman of CII is Dr Qibla Ayaz, and its members are Allama Mohammad Hussain Akbar, Hafiz Mohammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, Maulana Hamidul Haq Haqqani, Maulana Naseem Ali Shah, Mufti Mohammad Zubair, Mohammad Hassan Haseebur Rehman, Pir Abulhassan Mohammad Shah, Pirzada Junaid Amin, Syed Muhammad Habib Irfani, Syed Ziaullah Shah Bukhari and Umair Mahmood Siddiqui.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2022