With President Mahinda Rajapaksa promising to resolve the controversy with regard to the mosque in Dambulla, Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem is buying more time to arrive at a final decision, highly placed political sources told Asian Mirror this afternoon.

At the meeting with the President which was held at Temple Trees last night, Hakeem had said he was becoming helpless as the concerns of the Muslim community of Sri Lanka still remain un-addressed. He had cited that as the major reason for the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress to leave the government.

Responding to this concern raised by Hakeem, the government had agreed to resolve the issue surrounding the mosque in Dambulla, which came under attack from hardcore Buddhist groups in 2012.

This promise, reportedly, had “compelled” the SLMC to buy more time on announcing the party’s stance on the upcoming presidential election. inside sources of the SLMC said Minister Hakeem was looking for "one good reason" to remain in the government. 

SLMC Leader Rauff Hakeem was expected to join the Common Opposition today at a special press briefing held at the Opposition Leader’s Office.

However, the SLMC, the largest Muslim party in the country, still faces the risk of a possible split as a sizable proportion of the party’s front-liners exerting pressure on the party leadership to leave the government.