The controversy over Religious Affairs State Minister Amir Liaquat Hussain's alleged insinuation against seminaries took an ugly turn, as ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) Ulema and Mashaikh Wing on Sunday demanded his removal from the office. The demand was made despite the fact that the government had tendered an apology in this connection. The annual convention of PML Ulema and Mashaikh Wing, wherein the demand was made, turned into an 'embarrassing' affair for the ruling party, as the religious scholars from every nook and corner of the country and different schools of thought voiced unanimously against the minister.
The Ulema and Mashaikh looked so upset, as they vowed to take up the matter with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in their meeting scheduled later on Sunday, but an official statement issued after the talks denied any such thing.
The furious scholars, most of them heads of seminaries in different cities of the country, floated their demand through a resolution and chanted full-throat slogans at its unanimous adoption.
Federal Religious Affairs Minister Ijazul Haq and PML Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Syed, who found it difficult to convince the raged Ulema taking back their seats for good 10-minute, looked in desperation when one of their ruling coalition colleagues came under typical clerics' fierce criticism.
Amir Liaquat, a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) MNA, on Tuesday last said that most of the teachers at religious seminaries were involved in sexual exploitation of their students.
On very next day, he clarified the matter in the Senate saying he was misquoted by some newspapers, but refused to apologise when angry legislators from MMA criticised his statement and demanded to take back his words. Amir Liaquat, otherwise a low profile parliamentarian and anchor of a famous television programme on a religious issue, is reported to be President General Pervez Musharraf's choice for the cabinet slot.
Ijazul Haq tendered an official apology for Amir's remarks on behalf of the government to defuse the heat, but came out with the statement, which many people believed, was equally capable of giving rise to another similar 'high pitched' controversy.
He said that the opposition parties including religious hard-liner Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) were airing sectarianism in the country to achieve their political goals.