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KARACHI, July 6: Acting upon a proposal given by the federal ministry of religious affairs, Islamabad has asked all the provincial governments to form peace committees in order to avert any future Lal Masjid-like incident, Dawn has reliably learnt.
According to sources, such peace committees are firstly going to be formed in the provincial capitals and will later be formed at all the district headquarters.
A source in the provincial religious affairs department said that the Sindh authorities had received formal directives from Islamabad and appropriate measures were being taken in this regard.
He said the central committee was going to be formed in Islamabad, to be headed by the prime minister, while the federal minister for religious affairs would supervise its affairs.
Likewise, each provincial committee would be headed by the respective governor, with the relevant provincial minister working as coordinator.
Sources said politically impartial religious scholars, technocrats and notable citizens would be included in the provincial and district peace committees.
A set of similar peace committees had been operating across the country till the end of Nawaz Sharif’s second government, but these were dissolved by General Musharraf’s government.
The peace committees remained non-existent till the Lal Masjid debacle erupted and the authorities felt the need for some nationwide mechanism to maintain religious and sectarian harmony and to avoid such incidents in the future.
Ulema conference
Similarly, the sources said, the federal government had decided to convene an Ulema conference in Islamabad as soon as the Lal Masjid controversy cooled down.
According to knowledgeable sources in Islamabad, the ruling PML-Q’s chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq have been tasked with contacting and gathering all the prominent religious scholars at the conference to devise a renewed policy for Islamic seminaries in light of the unanimous recommendations.
“The conference would particularly review the situation created by the management of the Lal Masjid and file recommendations to avoid the recurrence of such situations,” said a source in Islamabad.
The recommendations would be forwarded to the government for tackling the increasing religious extremism in the country.
Talking to Dawn, Ejazul Haq confirmed the government’s plans to hold the conference, saying that it was part of the government’s endeavour to discourage the rising religious extremism.
He said the ‘positive’ role of the religious scholars in the Lal Masjid stand-off prompted the government to involve them along with other notables of society in such situations through some official forums.
“In a recent meeting, the president and the prime minister appreciated the role of the religious scholars in the Lal Masjid episode. It was decided to form peace committees featuring the Ulema across the country, so that they could be consulted if any such situation arises in the future,” said Ejazul Haq.
