On April 16 2009, a crucial meeting of Islamic scholars organized by the Religious Affairs Department of the Punjabi government discussed the issue of martyrdom attacks in Pakistan.
The meeting, chaired by the Chief Minister of the Punjab province Mian Shahbaz Sharif, resulted in the issuing of a jointcommuniqué declaring that "martyrdom attacks are forbidden in Islam, while cruel acts like sectarianism, bloodshed, terrorism, targeted killings and attacks on security forces have no links with Islam."
The following is an excerpt of the joint declaration, issued as a newspaper notice sponsored by the Punjabi government: [1]
"These people [Taliban militants] are bent upon giving a practical form to the despicable designs of the enemy, by creating insecurity and anarchy in the beloved nation. These miscreants are involved in anti-state activities at the behest of imperialist forces and their acts need to be condemned. Religious circles are deeply concerned over terrorist networks in the country and their expanding activities.
"Without a doubt, Pakistan is presently faced with the worst kind of terrorism. It is necessary to realize this and eliminate it, not only on the national level, but internationally as well. Only a peaceful and stable Pakistan is a guarantor of world peace. The Ulema, religious figures, and all religious circles participating in the meeting strongly condemn terrorism in any part of the world.
"One of the basic catalysts of terrorism in the FATA [Federally Administrated Tribal Areas] and the Swat district are the U.S. drone attacks in North and South Waziristan. The martyrdom of hundreds of innocent civilians as a result of these attacks is a very big tragedy which is condemned.
"It is demanded that the U.S. should immediately stop its barbaric activities [attacks in Pakistan]; this is a clear violation of the UN Charter. The United Nations and its Security Council through their resolutions should condemn theses U.S. activities that violate Pakistan’s internal autonomy and borders.
"The role of the Ulema and religious figures in the creation and stability of Pakistan is a shining aspect of our history. In the prevailing situation in the beloved nation, enemy forces are bent upon putting the freedom and security of our beloved country at a stake in order to achieve their nefarious objectives; but like always, the Ulema and religious figures will continue to play their important role for national solidarity, stability, sectarian [Sunni-Shi’ite] harmony and overall security of the country…"
Signatories to the Joint Declaration:
Allama Abdul Rahman Ashrafi, Maulana Abdul Khair Azad, Maulana Muhammad Hussain Akbar, Javed Akbar Saqi, Qari Ahmad Mian Thanvi, Allama Maqsood Ahmad Qadri, Maulana Ghulam Mustafa Razvi, Maulana Amjad Khan, Allama Dr. Sarfraz Ahmad Nayeemi, Maulana Muhammad Khan Laghari, Zubair Ahmad Zaheer, Professor Dr. Hamad Lakhvi, Allama Mufti Muhammad Ishaq Saqi Al Zahri, Sayyed Qaisar Abbas Bukhari, Ali Ghazanfar Kararvi, Al-haj Haidar Ali Mirza, Mian Khalid Habib Ilahi, Abdul Wahab Ropri, Khwaja Basharat Hussain Karbalai, Maulana Allama Mustafa Saqib, Maulana Abdul Mustafa Hazarvi, Allama Sayyed Asad Abbas Naqvi, Mufti Muhammad Iqbal Chishti, Mahfooz ur Rahman Naeemi, Abdur Rauf Farooqi, Maulana Muhammad Sajid Ilahi, Qari Muhammad Arif Sialvi, Hafiz Kazim Raza, Maulana Mushtaq Hussain Jafri, Maulana Saifuddin Saif, Maulana Muhammad Ajmal Gillani, Maulana Abdul Sattar Saeedi, Allama Professor Sajid Mir, Maulana Ahmad Ali Kasuri, Maulana Naeem ur Rahman Taher, Maulana Fazl Rahim, Allama Maulana Abdul Malik, Allama Sayyed Riaz Hussain Najafi, Hafiz Abdur Rasheed, Mufti Intikhab Ahmad Noori, Qari Abdul Salam, Maulana Rasheed Mian, Waqar ul Hassan Naqvi, Muhammad Afaz Haidari, Allama Ray Zafar Ali, Allama Abdul Tawab Sadiqui, Qari Zawr Bahadar, Dr. Mahmood ul Hassan Arif, Hafiz Abdul Ghafar Ropri, Sahibzada Ghulam Murtaza Shazi, Haji Abdur Razaq, Maulana Muhammad Rajar, Maulana Qari Nasarullah Khan, Maulana Salimullah Awaisi, Maulana Muhammad Nawaz Bashir Jalali, Qari Muhammad Nazir Qadri, Pir Sayyed Shamsuddin Bukhari, Qari Muhammad Aslam Naqshbandi, Maulana Muhammad Munir Malak, Dr. Khaliq Dar Malak, Allama Dr. Masood Mujahid, Allama Razauddin Sadiqui, Sahibzada Haji Muhammad Shafiq, Maulana Muhammad Naeem Arif Noori, Mufti Muhammad Zakria, Maulana Abdul Qadar Zia, Professor Abdul Hameed, Qari Said Taher Shah Bukhari, Qari Hafiz ur Rahman, Maulana Ghulam Hussain, Maulana Muhammad Saeed al-Sheikh, Maulana Ihsan ul Haq Sadiqui, Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Rashid, Dr. Ashraf Hamdani, Dr. Haris Mubeen, Maulana Muhammad Bashir Hayat, Sahibzada Badruzaman Qadri, Maulana Maqbool ur Rahman, Maulana Mehdi Ali Muntaziri, Maulana Naseeb Ilahi, Maulana Mufti Saadat Ali Qadri, Dr. Muhammad Arif Naeemi, Farid Ahmad Paracha, Maulana Raghab Naeemi, Maulana Abdur Rahman Ludhianvi, Afsar Hussain Khan, Mumtaz Hussan Buttha, Agha Hussain Mehdi, Haidar Ali Sadiqui, Pirzada Ahmad Saqlain Haidar.
Maulana Zahidur Rashidi, Maulana Muhammad Ibrahim Khalil, Maulana Mian Muhammad Salim Shahid, Allama Riaz Swati, Maulana Ahmad Mashhadi, Maulana Muhammad Azam, Allama Maulana Qari Khalid Mahmood Daskavi, Allama Iltaf Mahiuddin, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Sayyed Dr. Shahzada Mustafa, Hafiz Sayyed Muhammad Talha.
Allama Sayyed Sajid Ali Naqvi, Pir Sayyed Izhar Shah Bukhari, Maulana Sayyed Abdul Jalil Naqvi, Sayyed Riazul Hassan Shah, Sahibzada Saeed ur Rasheed Abbasi, Pir Sayyed Aftab Ahmad Shah, Allama Ghulam Ali Qamar, Maulana Sayyed Charaghuddin Shah, Mufti Muhammad Sulman Razvi, Allama Maulana Raja Muhammad Nasar Abbas, Sahibzada Muhammad Ikram Hamdani, Sayyed Zia ul Haq Shah, Maulana Allama Abdul Hannan Akhtar al-Azhari, Qari Abdul Malik, Professor Abdur Rahman Atiq, Allama Ghulam Murtaza, Allama Sher Muhammad Razvi, Mufti Muhammad Sulman Razvi, Dr. Sajidur Rahman and Abdur Razaq Jami.
Allama Malak Naseer Awan, Maulana Sahibzada Abdullah Saeed Hashmi, Sahibzada Abdur Rahman Chishti, Allama Maulana Iftikhar Hussain Naqvi, Sayyed Muhammad Safdar Shah, Sahibzada Pir Aminul Hasnat Shah, Maulana Qari Liaqat Ali Qasimi, Maulana Professor Ubaidul Islam, Maulana Muhammad Sharif Razvi, Allama Maulana Abdul Haq Bandyalvi, Sahibzada Hassani, Maulana Sahibzada Abdul Malik, Muhammad Ibrahim and Allama Ghulam Mujahid Sialvi.
Maulana Muhammad Yousaf Anwar, Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi, Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Chinioti, Maulana Muhammad Yaseen Zafar, Maulana Muhammad Younus Butt, Sahibzada Atta ul Mustafa Noori, Allama Sayyed Hidayat Rasool Shah, Mufti Muhammad Zia Madani, Professor Dr. Muhammad Ishaq Quraish, Allama Muhammad Ashraf Hamdani, Sayyed Sana ul Haq Tirmezi, Allama Mujahid Hussaini Pir and Muhammad Tariq Wali Shah.
Maulana Faqir Habibur Rahman Akhtar, Maulana Rashid Ahmad Abbasi, Maulana Riaz Ahmad Awaisi, Maulana Abdur Rauf Rabbani, Sahibzada Mufti Muhammad Mohsin, Allama Sharif Razvi, Maulana Masood Qasim Qasmi, Maulana Mufti Mukhtar Ahmad, Khwaja Ghulam Qutbuddin Faridi and Maulana Abdur Rasool.
Allama Sahibzada Mazhar Farid, Maulana Abdul Sattar, Maulana Mufi Walayat Iqbal, Sahibzada Pir Mohibullah Noori, Maulana Muhammad Jaber Hussain and Maulana Qazi Wahajul Naseer.
Pir Nisar Qasim, Raja Shahjehan Sarfraz, Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, Sayyed Ahmad Ali Shah, Haji Malak Mukhtar, Sayyed Taqlid Raza Shah, Sayyed Muhammad Abbas Shah and Sayyed Amir Hussain Zaidi.
Members of the Ittehad Bain-ul-Muslimeen, an Inter-Muslim Alliance of the Punjabi Government:
Muhammad Kabir Ali Shah Gillani, Home Secretary Punjab; Pir Asif Ali Shah Gillani, Inspector General of Punjab Police; Pir Sahibzada Muhammad Usman Noori, Allama Qari Faiz Bakhsh Razvi, Qari Muhammad Hanif Jalandhari, Abdur Razaq Jami, Agha Abbas, Allama Ghulam Muhammad Sialvi, Sahibzada Hamid Saeed Kazim, Maulana Said Irfan Mashhadi, Kiramat Ali Imrani, Al-haj Shafqat Hussain Bhutta, Ali Muhammad Khwaja, Sayyed Mazhar Hussain Gillani, Sayyed Irfan Iltaf Naqvi and Javed Mirza.
Endnote:
[1] Roznama Express, Pakistan, April 26, 2009
