PM's Representative On Religious Harmony Tahir Ashrafi Backs Saudi View On Khashoggi Killing

Special Representative of the Prime Minister on Religious Harmony and Central Chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi has come out in support of Saudi Arabia's stance on the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Speaking to a gathering of more than 1,000 religious clerics in Lahore earlier this Sunday, Ashrafi endorsed the Pakistani government stance in support of the Saudi position.

Tahir Ashrafi took the view that Pakistan's relationship to Saudi Arabia is based on faith and that any threat to the Custodians of the Holy Sites, the Saudi monarchy, is a “red line.”

The convention of religious clerics in Pakistan was held at Lahore's Al Hamra Hall. Presided over by Tahir Ashrafi, the convention released a statement which stated:
“Saudi Arabia has met the requirements of justice in the case of Saudi citizen Khashoggi. The peace, security and stability of Saudi Arabia are dear to every Muslim. Pakistan and the Muslim Ummah will not accept any step against the security, stability and defence of Saudi Arabia.”

The administration of US President Joe Biden last week released a declassified intelligence report into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which implicates Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). Senior figures from the Democratic Party have called on President Biden to take punitive measures against the Crown Prince for his apparent role in the murder of Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Turkey.