Dawn
-
17:39 Jan 01, 2026
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday appointed Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) Chairman Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi as the Coordinator for Religious Harmony and for the Pakistani Diaspora in the Middle East and Muslim Countries. The PUC is a broad coalition of clerics from various Sunni schools of thought. Ashrafi, also a member of the Supreme Council of the Muslim World League and other Islamic organisations, has been given the appointment at a critical time, given the evolving situation in the Muslim world and the strategic importance of relations with the Gulf nations and other Islamic countries. Talking to Dawn, he said that under the new role, he will be responsible for strengthening coordination, enhancing mutual understanding and further improving Pakistan’s relations with Islamic and Arab states, mainly the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. “This is because I have maintained close and longstanding ties with leading Islamic scholars and senior leaders of the Arab and Muslim world,” Ashrafi said, ad...