At Religious Gathering, Militant Pakistani Cleric Issues Call to Stop Resumption of Delivery of NATO Supplies Through Pakistani Territory, Asks Followers To Await Orders

At a recent conference in Pakistan's Sindh province, militant Islamic cleric Maulana Muhammad Muavia Azam called upon his followers to be ready to stop the likely resumption of the delivery of NATO supplies through Pakistani territory, and urged them to await orders. His call comes at a time when the U.S. and Pakistan are engaged in talks to negotiate the terms of the resumption of delivery of supplies to U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Maulana Muhammad Muavia Azam is president of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) for Punjab province. The ASWJ is the new name of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), a former religious-political party that has been banned. The SSP and its military arm Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) continue to be active across Pakistan despite the government ban. The SSP/LeJ duo, which works alongside Al-Qaeda and Taliban, is also known for its long-standing campaign of violence against Shi'ite Muslims.

Maulana Muhammad Muavia Azam was speaking at the Annual Imam Ahle Sunnat Conference, at the Jamia Haidria seminary in the town of Khairpur Mirs in Sindh on February 24, 2012, in homage to powerful cleric and SSP leader Allama Sher Haidri who was killed by rival militants in 2009. ...