Members of the Ulema Council (religious scholars council) on Thursday strongly condemned well-known Pakistani cleric Maulana Fazlur Rahman for his comments that the war against the Afghan government was acceptable.
 
The clerics said that such statements are indicative of Pakistan’s anti-Afghan politics.
 
In a recent statement, Fazlu Rahman said the war against Afghanistan is acceptable because of the presence of foreign forces in the country.
 
“Peace will not be restored to Afghanistan as long as foreign forces are present there. Inter-Afghan dialogue will yield results once these forces withdraw,” said Fazlu Rahman.
 
But, the Afghan clerics struck back over the assertions.
 
“Fazlur Rahman lives in a country where the courts issue verdicts on the basis of British laws; foreigners have a major influence there and they can do whatever they want. Fazlur Rahman says that the war in Afghanistan is permissible due to the presence of foreign forces because they have toppled the Taliban,” said Maulavi Mohammad Qasim Halimi, spokesman for the Ulema Council.
 
Members of the Ulema Council said that Fazlu Rahman’s statement toward Afghanistan is rooted in the hostile policies of Pakistan toward Afghanistan.
 
They also said Fazlur Rahman’s comments were not based on any facts.  
 
“We have a lot of enlightened scholars and they can analyze the issues with logic, now it is the responsibility of the governments to identify these scholars and help them,” said religious scholar Maulavi Baba Jan.
 
Afghans also dismissed the Pakistani cleric’s statement and said that religious scholars have the ability to play a positive role in promoting peace in society and prevent people from resorting to violence.