Ashrafi urges political parties to avoid religion use for politics

Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, the chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council and the special representative to the prime minister on interfaith harmony and the Middle East, has urged all parties to refrain from using religion in politics.

He instructed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan to consult a religious scholar before discussing religion, but he was free to practice politics as he pleased while speaking at a press conference here on Sunday. He claimed that Imran Khan constantly misled his supporters by telling lies. He asserted that all political disputes could be resolved through reconciliation.

Commenting on the visit of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to India, Ashrafi said he did not go to Goa (India) on the invitation of India, adding that he went there on the invitation of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). He appreciated the foreign minister for his successful tour and said that Bilawal bravely presented Pakistan’s stance on Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir to the Indian media. He said the Indian government and its foreign minister got frustrated, which was a proof of Bilawal Bhutto’s success.

He said that Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir had already expressed stance of the army on Kashmir in his address at Kakul Academy a couple of days ago.