PUL-I-ALAM (PAN.
Hundreds of people, including religious scholars and members of the provincial ulema in Pul-i-Alam, the provincial capital.
They said the statement by Maulana Tahir Ashrafi confirmed that Pakistan had been contributing suicide bombers to the Afghan war.
Ashrafi did a U-turn on his statement by saying some media outlets had misquoted him.
Later, the Pakistani government distanced itself from Ashrafi’s remarks, saying Islamabad and Pakistani ulema had categorically condemned suicide attacks and considered them repugnant to the teachings of Islam.
But nearly 500 people who gathered in the Pul-i-Alam mosque alleged the statement was part of Pakistan’s most feared intelligence agency’s continued interference into Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
One of the speakers, Maulvi Ziaur Rahman, said Ashrafi’s remarks were a clear evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in Afghanistan’s unrest.
Another speaker, Maulvi Habibullah, the prayer leader at the Kolangar mosque, said Ashrafi’s statement had nothing to do with religion, calling it part of the neighbouring country’s conspiracies against the Afghans.
A separate gathering in the Kolankar village also condemned Ashrafi’s statement, calling it in contradiction to Islam.
Hundreds of people attended the protest meeting that asked the Pakistani cleric to tender an unconditional apology to the government and the people of Afghanistan.
ma
GET IN TOUCH
NEWSLETTER
SUGGEST A STORY
PAJHWOK MOBILE APP