Hamid replaces Ashrafi as MUB chief

LAHORE: The Punjab government on Monday removed Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi as chairman of the Muttahida Ulema Board (MUB) and replaced him with Punjab Quran Board (PQB) Chairman Hamid Raza.

According to sources, Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi ordered the removal of Ashrafi reportedly on the demand of the PTI top leadership which has been unhappy with him over his resistance to follow some new policy guidelines.

A notification by Punjab Auqaf Secretary Abrar Ahmed, which removed Ashrafi and appointed Hamid Raza in his place, says that the rest of the Muttahida Ulema Board will remain intact.The removal of Ashrafi came a day after he had called on Pervaiz Elahi at his office on Sunday where the CM had assured that the Seerat Academy would be restored with the commencement of new MPhil classes in it, and that the MUB would be re-activated by bringing a new law. In a post-meeting statement, Ashrafi praised the services of Elahi for the promotion of Islam, saying that those services would always be remembered. He also praised the CM’s decision to enact a new law for the MUB.

Ashrafi is a cleric from the Deobandi school of thought and has been serving as prime minister’s advisor on Religious Harmony and Middle East for many years.