ISLAMABAD: The special aide to the Prime Minister on Religious Harmony and Middle East, Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi said on Tuesday, that the visit of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad-bin-Salman to Pakistan is a testimony of the strength, stability and improvement of ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
“The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has emerged as a strong and positive thinking leader not only for the Muslim world, but the world at large,” he said this, while talking to media, following his three-day visit to Bahrain.
Ashrafi said, that the conference on climate change in Egypt and Saudi Arabia’s Green Middle East vision would pave the way for development in many areas of mutual interest between Pakistan and the countries of the Middle East.
He said that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif aptly interpreted the nation and the country in Egypt on the challenges of climate change and post flashflood damages in Pakistan. Ashrafi said that religious scholars are constantly working for the awareness of the people on the issues of climate change and for the importance of interfaith and interreligious dialogue around the globe.
He said the conferences hosted by Dar Al-Ifta Egypt and Bahrain Islamic Council have given guidance to the world, and an effective voice has been raised through these conferences regarding the eradication of poverty, ignorance and for the cause of promoting peace.
“The leadership of all religions through these conferences have appealed to end the Russia-Ukraine war,” he said. Ashrafi said that the world is facing problems due to the war and the world leadership should promote peace by making an effort to end it soon. Hafiz Ashrafi also announced that the ‘5th International Message of Islam Conference ‘Relations of Pakistan-Saudi Arabia and Islamic World’ will be held under the aegis of the Pakistan Ulema Council on November16, 2022 in Islamabad. He said that top leaders of the Islamic world will address this coveted conference. Ashrafi elaborated:
“Under the patronage of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, and with the support of the Government of Egypt, the World Conference on climate change has determined an effective and positive direction at the global level in general and in the Islamic world specifically.”
He said Pakistan has already welcomed the vision of the Saudi Crown Prince vis-a-vis a Green Middle East and Green Saudi Arabia initiatives and Pakistan will fully extend cooperation with Saudi Arabia in this regard. He said that if the internal situation of Pakistan is stabilised an investment of around 25 to 30 billion dollars can come into Pakistan in the next one to two years.
Ashrafi revealed that Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain are all eager to extend their cooperation towards Pakistan and Prime Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif has instructed all the respective departments and ministries to create all possible facilities in this regard.
In response to a question pertaining to the current situation in the country, Hafiz Ashrafi said that the ongoing protest, blockade of the roads and the blame game is not a solution to the problems.
He said that the attack on Imran Khan is condemnable and the facts should come out. Ashrafi said a conspiracy narrative has been created to defame the most sensitive institution of the country, with aims to create division in the nation and the army, which has no authenticity. “For the Pakistani nation, its red line is its religion, homeland and the army,” he said.
Meanwhile, the leadership of the Pakistan Ulema Council have appealed to the leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to open the closed roads at various places, saying that the PTI has the right to protest peacefully, but realising the difficulties of the public is also the responsibility of the leadership and workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
In a joint statement, Central Chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council, Hafiz Ashrafi, Allama Abdul Haq Mujahid, Maulana Asad Zakaria Qasmi, Maulana Nauman Hasher, Maulana Muhammad Shafi Qasmi, Maulana Asadullah Farooq, Allama Tahirul Hasan, Maulana Zubair Abid, Maulana Muhammad Ashfaq Patafi, Maulana Tahir Aqeel Awan, Maulana Muhammad Aslam Siddiqui, Maulana Aziz Akbar Qasmi and others have appealed to the leadership of the PTI to immediately end the blockade of roads in different parts of the country, especially in Lahore and Islamabad.