Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday was targeted by clerics and citizens for his criticism of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on the popular micro-blogging site Twitter.
The minister had opined that the CII was not of much use and is in dire need of new leadership that had updated knowledge.
اسلامی نظریاتی کونسل کی کارکردگی پر سنجیدہ سوالات ہیں، آج تک مذہبی طبقات کی سوچ کو نظریاتی کونسل سے کوئ رہنمائ نہیں ملی، ایسے ادارے پرکروڑوں روپے خرچ کرنے کا جواز میری سمجھ سے بالاتر ہے، ادارے کی تشکیل نؤ کی ضرورت ہے۔جدید تقاضوں سےہم آھنگ ، انتہائ جید لوگ اس ادارے کو سنبھالیں
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) January 9, 2020
“There are serious questions about the performance of Council of Islamic Ideology. It has failed to guide the religious segment [of society] thus far. I’m at a loss to understand why millions of rupees are spent on such an institution,” the federal minister had commented via his official Twitter handle.
“There is a need to reconstitute this institution along modern lines. Highly qualified scholars should take up its reins,” he added.
In response, an account that supposedly belongs to Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai but has not been verified lashed out at the sci-tech minister.
“You could have said this in simpler words: Same as you have nothing to do with science and technology and your ministry needs a qualified person at the helm, the Council of Islamic Ideology, according to you, needs a highly qualified scholar,” it tweeted.
“The science and technology ministry has failed to live up to the nation’s expectations. We import everything – from heavy machinery to a needle – because we cannot manufacture, or even if we do, their quality is highly inferior. The nation should be rid of this ministry,” it said in another tweet.
اسلامی نظریاتی کونسل کی کارکردگی پر سنجیدہ سوالات ہیں، آج تک مذہبی طبقات کی سوچ کو نظریاتی کونسل سے کوئ رہنمائ نہیں ملی، ایسے ادارے پرکروڑوں روپے خرچ کرنے کا جواز میری سمجھ سے بالاتر ہے، ادارے کی تشکیل نؤ کی ضرورت ہے۔جدید تقاضوں سےہم آھنگ ، انتہائ جید لوگ اس ادارے کو سنبھالیں
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) January 9, 2020
Similarly, an account using the pseudonym of “Maulana Fazlur Rehman Lovers Team”, also criticised the sci-tech minister for his tweet.
“The performance of Council of Islamic Ideology is not unsatisfactory. It has sent more than 30,000 recommendations to parliament. Show us your performance – how many of these recommendations have been implemented,” the tweet read.
“Money hungry people have come to power for the first and last time. They want to disband all institutions and devour their funds,” it added.
