LAHORE: Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah on Saturday said without going into depth of his stance [on Ahmadiyya community], a certain lobby [political opponents] twisted his stance in order to malign his reputation.
Earlier, Sanaullah came under criticism when he made a controversial statement favouring the minority community. Sanaullah said that “Ahmadis (also) act upon ‘Namaz’ (prayer) and ‘Roza’ (fast); they go to mosques and recite Azan” incited countrywide protests. The Punjab minister stirred up a hornet’s nest by calling Ahmadis Muslims. However, he clarified his stance later, stating that whoever does not believe in the finality of prophethood was outside the boundary of Islam.
Talking to Punjab Ulema Council delegation who called on him, the minister said ulemas who are close to him know his love and respect for the prophet, adding that the issue raised in reference to media programme emerged because of the shortage of time due to which he could not fully explain his views.
Talking to the delegation the minister said that anyone who does not believe in the finality of prophethood is not a Muslim, adding that we call Christians and Sikhs non-Muslims; however we cannot say this about Ahmadis as they don’t accept themselves as non-Muslims. He said his true stance in the TV programme was twisted by the “political opponents and some negative minded people”.
The delegation accepted the statement of Rana Sanaullah about Ahmadis and describing it satisfactory. In a joint statement, they said that Rana Sanaullah is true Muslim and is a strong believer in the finality of prophethood. They said that the facts were distorted in the print media, adding that the finality of prophethood is a sensitive issue and it should not be politicised.
Pakistan Ulema Council VC Hafiz Muhammad Shoaib, Punjab International Khatm-e-Nabowat chief Ahmed Nadeem, General Secretary Ilyas Farooqi and others were present on the occasion.