The Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) on Wednesday announced to boycott the proposed Afghan Ulema Conference that will be held in Kabul and demanded that the Afghan Taliban be extended an invitation to participate in the conference.
The announcement came from PUC Chairman and Islamic Ideological Council member Hafiz Mohammad Tahir Ashrafi during a press conference at the National Press Club.
Tahir Ashrafi said various parties including Wafaq-ul-Maradis Arabia, Tahafuz-e-Madaris-e-Deenia, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, (JUI-F), JUI-S and Jamaat-e-Islami had already boycotted the ensuing Afghan Ulema Conference.
He added that PUC was not a representative of the Afghan Taliban. “PUC believes that any reconciliation efforts without the Afghan Taliban could not prove fruitful,” he added.
Urging the government to invite the Afghan Taliban into the conference, he made it clear that without participation of the Afghan Taliban the PUC would not become part of any ulema conference.
He said the situation would take a turn for the worse when Mullah Omer would be declared a Satan and Karzai would be taken as a caliph. Ashrafi mentioned that PUC had also demanded an end to drone strikes as one of the agendas for the conference. He alleged that international media had censored this demand.
He said that the Afghan Taliban must be included in all peace negotiations as they were major stakeholders in the situation.
Furthermore, he alleged that the Afghan ulema had violated an agreement inked with PUC a few days ago.
Ashrafi said that the PUC was ready to play its role in ensuring lasting peace in Afghanistan and forging unity among various stakeholders but it was not ready to condemn the Afghan Taliban or Mullah Umar.
Ashrafi was of the view that in Islamic Ideology Council, one faction led by Sajid Naqvi was included whereas the other faction led by Ahmed Ludhayanvi had been ignored due to which the council lost its credibility.
Responding to a question he said he had submitted five points in Islamic Ideological Council for exterminating sectarian violence.
