KL Reports
SRINAGAR
The chief of Jama’at-e-Islami (JeI) on Thursday claimed that the Member of Legislative Assembly (elect) Engineer Abdul Rasheed spoke in his absence at an annual congregation of JeI in winter capital of State.
Rashid, who also heads Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) addressed a Jama’at function at Masjid Ibrahim in Rajindra Bazar area of Jammu City on Sunday, wherein he called for the resolution of burning issues of Kashmir and Palestine.
“I had gone to perform ablution when his name was called for address. When his name was called, they (local organizers) didn’t called him MLA Abdul Rasheed but Engineer Abdul Rasheed and we hadn’t even imagined that it would turn Lawmaker Rashid,” Muhammad Abdullah Wani, the Ameer of JeI, told GNS over phone.
In reply to a question, Wani said he would have stopped Rashid from addressing. “It is against our policies. Someone informed me that Rasheid is addressing and instantly he sat down and some other person namely Professor Ghulam Rasool started address,” adding: “I would have definitely stopped him.”
The JeI chief said that two members from Jammu have been expelled from the party over inviting Rasheid to Jama’at function. “We expelled District President Jammu Abdul Kareem and caretaker of the mosque Ghulam Nabi Fareedabadi,” he informed. He further said that caretaker Faridabadi was “found more guilty” as compared to Abdul Kareem.
The JeI chief said he and his party were kept in dark by the organizers over invite to Rashid. “There is a tradition in Jammu that when Jama’at conducts congregation, non-Muslims are invited as well. They participate in interaction,” he said, adding: “In our programme copy, there was interactive section and in the session, Muslims and two Hindus were supposed to speak. One was some Khajuria, a Pandit and another I don’t remember.”
“But, a day before congregation, these two Hindus said they couldn’t come and instead district president and caretaker invited MLA Rashid,” he said.
The JeI chief said caretaker of the mosque didn’t tell them till last moment. “If he had informed, we would have stopped him,” he said.
Replying to a query, Wani said he would accept every decision of the party’s Majlis-e-Shura or advisory council including resigning from the post of JeI chief.
Meanwhile, the JeI spokesman, Advocate Zahid Ali, said that a session of party’s advisory council would be held in few days.
