KARACHI, March 1: Provincial ministers have held meetings with ulema belonging to various schools of thought to foster religious tolerance among people.

Ministers, belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Shoaib Ahmad Bokhari and Naeem Ishtiaq on Saturday met with chief of the Jamaat Ahle Sunnat Syed Shah Turabul Haque Qadri, as well as religious scholars, including Syed Hasan Zafar Naqvi, Dr Abdul Khaliq Pirzada, Yaqub Attari and Allama Dr Syed Zamir Akhtar Naqvi.

The MQM ministers urged ulema to play their role in maintaining sectarian harmony. Ulema, while lauding MQM's efforts in this regard, stressed the need to forge unity among the Sunnis and Shias, saying it was vital to eliminate the possibility of sectarian riots.

The Ulema, present on the occasion, assured the ministers of their cooperation in this regard and welcomed steps taken by Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad for maintaining peace in the province.