The government and the TLP had a detailed discussion under an environment of mutual trust, and an agreement has been reached between the two sides.
This was announced by Mufti Muneebur Rehman addressing a presser in Islamabad.
His successful dialogue with the banned TLP is being seen as his befitting reply to Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, who had been busy adding fuel to the fire by his statements throughout the crisis. He is also used to target clerics especially the Mufti Muneeb.
Mufti Muneeb held successful talks and reached an agreement with the banned outfit when entire government machinery had failed to handle the crisis gripped the whole country.
The same information minister had a role in removing Mufti Muneeb from the chairmanship of Ruet-i-Hilal Committee (RHC) last year.
In May 2019, Fawad Chaudhry wrote on his Twitter account :“The decision about how the country will be run cannot rest with the religious clergy. Pakistan would not have gained independence if Ulema were given any authority as they used to oppose the creation of Pakistan and labelled [Quaid-e-Azam] Muhammad Ali Jinnah as an apostate.”
یہ فیصلہ کہ ملک کیسے چلنا ہے مولانا پر نہیں چھوڑا جا سکتا، اس رو سے پاکستان کا قیام ہی عمل میں نہ آتا کیونکہ تمام بڑے علماء تو پاکستان کے قیام کے مخالف تھے اور جناح صاحب کو کافر آعظم کہتے تھے، آگے کا سفر مولویوں نے نہیں نوجوانوں نے کرنا ہے اور ٹیکنالوجی ہی قوم کو آگے لیجا سکتی ہے https://t.co/HEXcJVWfTW
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) May 5, 2019
He further said that the journey ahead will not be led by religious leaders but the youth. Only technology can take our country forward, he added.
In another Tweet, he said:” A five-member committee had been constituted to prepare a ten-year calendar for Muharram, Eid and Ramzan to end the dispute arising from the sighting of the crescent.”
پانچ رکنی کمیٹی قائم کی ہے جس میں سپارکو،محکمہ موسمیات اور سائنس اور ٹیکنالوجی کے ماھرین شامل ہوں گے یہ کمیٹی اگلے دس سال کے چاند، عیدین ، محرم اور رمضان سمیت دیگر اہم کیلنڈر کی تاریخ کا کیلنڈر جاری کرےگی۔ اس سے ہر سال پیدا ہونیوالا تنازعہ ختم ہو گا۔
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) May 5, 2019
In a rejoined, later, Mufti Muneeb speaking to the media urged the prime minister to rein-in ministers “as they seem to lack knowledge about the system”. He also lashed out at Fawad for saying that clerics had opposed Pakistan’s creation, saying that “history is a witness to the immense sacrifices the clerics made during the freedom movement and it is not appropriate to cite the role of a few clerics in order to criticise others”.
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He said that Fawad has a habit of making baseless claims in order to stay in the limelight. “One must talk with caution while commenting on the clerics,” he said, adding that Fawad must know that RHC consists of members of Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO). He further said that RHC’s announcements have never been proven to be wrong.
“If Fawad is fond of making a lunar calendar then he should go ahead and make a calendar of 100 years instead of just 10,” he added.
During the pandemic last year, Mufti Muneebur Rehman told his followers to continue going to mosques while practicing social distancing.
The next day, then Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry took to twitter and wrote :”When he (the Mufti) can’t see such a big moon, how will he spot the small coronavirus.”
مولانا منیب الرحمنٰ ہمارے بزرگ ہیں احترام ہے لیکن ان کو اتنا بڑا چاند نظر نہیں آتا اتنا چھوٹا کرونا وائرس کہاں سے نظر آنا ہے، وزارت مذھبی امور کی توجہ دلائ ہے کہ آپ کی وزارتی کمیٹی کے سربراہ اگر حکومتی احکامات کا یوں مذاق اڑائیں گے تو باقیوں سے کیا توقع؟
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) April 15, 2020
He further wrote: “It has been brought to the attention of the ministry of religious affairs that if this is how the head of its ministerial committee makes a mockery of government’s orders, than what could be expected of others?”.
The former chairman of RHC by holding successful negotiations with the banned outfit not only averted a serious crisis but also settled a score with Fawad Chaudhry.