Resolve Ayodhya issue through dialogue: forum

Contending parties must work for an out-of-court settlement

Following Babri litigant, Mohammed Hashim Ansari's initiative to resolve the Ayodhya tangle through talks and opt for an out-of-court settlement, the Forum for Peace and Unity on Monday appealed to all parties to work for finding an amicable solution.

Forum president Maulana Zahur Ahmed Siddiqui told journalists here that the Allahabad High Court verdict on the Babri Masjid title suits provided an opportunity for settling the issue through talks. Mr. Siddiqui said that it was an opportune moment for the contending parties to sit across the table for finding a negotiated settlement to the dispute.

The Forum welcomed the initiative taken by 90-year-old Hashim Ansari for an out-of-court settlement. Mr. Ansari met Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad chief Mahant Gyan Das in Hanumangarhi temple in Ayodhya on Sunday and reportedly submitted a proposal for settling the issue.

Mr. Ansari asked the Mahant to open channels for a negotiated settlement. The oldest surviving litigant is reported to have said that following the Allahabad High Court verdict, efforts should be made to end the dispute through talks.

Mr. Ansari claimed that he had been asked by the Sunni Central Waqf Board (SCWB) to explore the possibility of a settlement, a claim vehemently denied by the Waqf Board counsel in the Babri title suits, Zafaryab Jilani. Mr. Jilani said that Mr. Ansari had gone on his own and in the past too he had been meeting the Hindu religious leaders in Ayodhya. Mr. Jilani has already stated that the Sunni Waqf Board would file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the High Court verdict.

Reports said that Mahant Gyan Das, who is known for his strident anti-Vishwa Hindu Parishad stance, has met several other Hindu religious leaders in Ayodhya in a bid to explore the possibility of an out-of-court settlement.

Meanwhile, the legal sub-committee of the Babri Masjid Committee of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) will meet in Delhi on October 9 for studying the High Court judgment which runs into more than 8,000 pages.