JUI-F suspends Mufti Kifayatullah as Mansehra chief

PESHAWAR: The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) on Monday suspended Mufti Kifayatullah as the party’s Mansehra chief for “violating party discipline and taking part in activities against the party policy”. The party also formed a three-member committee to probe the matter. The decision was taken in a meeting of the provincial executive council of the party held with its provincial president Maulana Ataur Rahman in the chair.

A press release issued to the media stated that the meeting thoroughly discussed the frequent violations of the party policies by Mufti Kifayatullah, his appearance in a press conference and other activities against the party line.

The meeting unanimously decided to suspend Mufti Kifayatullah as the party’s Mansehra president. A three-member committee was also formed to look into the matter and submit a report to the council.

The committee would be headed by provincial general secretary of the party Maulana Ataul Haq Darvesh, and Maulana Fazle Ghafoor and Asif Iqbal Daudzai.

The meeting, according to the statement, announced disowning the Mansehra incident in which a religious teacher had been accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year boy. The accused has already been arrested.

The meeting discussed that the statements given by some office-bearers in favour of the accused could be their personal thoughts and the party had nothing to do with them. The meeting demanded a high-level inquiry into the incident and urged stern action against those found responsible.

Reached on his cell phone for comments, Maulana Ataul Haq Darvesh said that they were still in a meeting and were discussing the issue. He suggested that spokesman for the party Abdul Jalil Jan should be approached to learn about the decisions taken in this regard. Mufti Kifayatullah told this reporter to contact him 15 minutes later so that he could read the press release. But, he did not pick up his phone despite several attempts later.

Another senior leader of the party, when contacted, said that the individual acts and statements of some party members should not be deemed as party policy. He referred to the Mansehra incident in which he said some party members had held a press conference in support of the accused, which damaged party’s reputation. He said that they wanted action against anyone who was found guilty of harassing children.

He said that the membership of Mufti Kifayatullah would remain suspended until the three-member committee furnished its report.

Mufti Kifayatullah has recently emerged as one of the most vocal leaders of JUI-F. He was heard strongly criticizing the military’s role in the political affairs. He had recently been attacked by unknown people and subjected to severe torture. He was also arrested by the district administration of Mansehra and kept in jail for several days apparently for his bold discussion on television channels.

Sources privy to the development said that the Mansehra incident was used as an excuse for suspension of Mufti Kifayatullah. The actual reason behind his suspension was the immense pressure on the party from the powerful circles, who were not happy with his frequent participation in TV talk shows and his criticism on certain quarters.

The executive council of the party also discussed arrangements for the party’s convention scheduled to be held in Peshawar on February 2. A number of committees were formed to make arrangements for the gathering that would be addressed by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman and other party leaders.