india

Updated: Jun 25, 2019 23:54 IST

The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board (UPSCWB) held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss issues including those related to the progress in the ongoing negotiations with the Supreme Court-appointed Ayodhya mediation panel.

“The board chairman Zufar Ahmed Farooqui apprised the members about his discussion and meetings with mediation panel and everyone expressed satisfaction over the developments,” said a UPSCWB member, who attended the meeting, on condition of anonymity.

Some members were of the view that the issue had been dragging on for far too long and if there was any possibility of a “just and honourable settlement”, it should be discussed, he added.

The meeting assumes significance in view of Babri-Masjid Action Committee’s recent statement saying it was better to wait for a court verdict in the matter instead of exploring the possibility of a negotiated settlement.

“The Muslims have always made it clear that they are willing to cooperate but then something tangible and worthwhile should be there to consider for both the parties,” the member quoted above said.

He added that a final decision would be taken only after consulting all parties to the dispute and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

The panel has also invited the UPSWB for talks even as it is not a litigant in the case. The UPSWB has expressed its willingness to give up the disputed land in Ayodhya in exchange for an alternative site for building a mosque.

Another round of talks with the mediation panel was scheduled to take place in the first week of July in New Delhi.

Farooqui declined to comment citing the apex court’s order against sharing details of the mediation panel meetings.