Zulfiqar Ahmad
ISLAMABAD, June 4, 2026: A senior official of the Ismaili National Council for Pakistan on Thursday rebutted a claim made by Khana-e-Hikmat group that its establishment had been approved by Maulana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini, the 49th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims.
Talking to ChitralToday on condition of anonymity, the council official described the assertion as a “complete fabrication” intended to mislead members of the Ismaili community.
The response comes amid renewed efforts by a representative of Khana-e-Hikmat, a research organisation founded by the late Nasiruddin Hunzai, to present the group as an institution sanctioned by the 49th Imam through a Farman communicated via the Rawalpindi Regional Council.
The National Council maintained that the claim is not only inaccurate and baseless, but also fabricated and fundamentally impossible within the Ismaili community’s institutional framework.
“There is absolutely no truth whatsoever in the claim that Khana-e-Hikmat was approved by Maulana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini, or that any such farman was conveyed through the Rawalpindi Regional Council,” he added.
“The Imam’s farameen are issued through the National Council for Pakistan and disseminated to all Jamat Khanas nationwide via the established network of regional councils, not through a single regional council.”
The official accused the group of attempting to cloak itself in the legitimacy of the Imamat while bypassing the very institutions established to represent it.
“What they are presenting is not a misunderstanding, it is a flat lie,” the official said.
“Had there been any such farman, it would have been communicated nationwide to every Jamat Khana. There would be documentary evidence, institutional records, and widespread knowledge of it throughout the community. None exists.”
The National Council’s criticism went beyond procedural objections, questioning how an organisation that claims to be an approved Imamat institution could simultaneously have faced state action under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
The official noted that Khana-e-Hikmat was banned in 2013 under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, arguing that the organisation’s legal history directly contradicts its current claims of official recognition.
“Imamat institutions are well respected and recognised around the world, including in Pakistan,” the official said.
“If the so-called Khana-e-Hikmat had genuinely been an institution sanctioned by the Imam, it would never have been banned under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. The claim collapses under the weight of its own contradictions.”
According to the official, the Ismaili National Council not only accepted the 2013 ban but actively supported it, while advising members of the Ismaili community to distance themselves from the organisation and avoid involvement in its activities.
The official also dismissed attempts by Khana-e-Hikmat representative to invoke the name of Shafiq Sachedina in support of his position.
“If they truly believe their narrative, then Sachedina is very much alive. Why, then, does the group not ask him to come forward and put this controversy to rest if Khana-e-Hikmat were genuinely a legitimate institution,” the official remarked.
“Instead, we continue to see unsubstantiated assertions, recycled allegations, and attempts to exploit the goodwill and trust that the community places in Imamat institutions.”
In unusually sharp language, the official accused Khana-e-Hikmat of pursuing a deliberate campaign of misinformation aimed at confusing members of the Jamat and advancing its own agenda.
“This group is misleading the Jamat for its vested interests,” he said. “Its claims are unfounded, baseless, and contrary to established facts. The community should be extremely cautious of any organisation seeking legitimacy through fabricated associations with the Imam or official institutions of the Imamat.”
The council offcial warned that any continued attempts to portray Khana-e-Hikmat as an approved Jamati institution would be unacceptable.