The Pakistan Ulema Council has turned down the invitation to the conference of religious authorities to be held in Kabul in March. The High Peace Council, which proposed the meeting, has not given up hope.
The Pakistan Ulema Council has turned down the invitation to the conference of religious authorities to be held in Kabul in March. The High Peace Council, which proposed the meeting, has not given up hope.A letter from the Pakistan Ulema Council to its Afghan counterpart on Feb 21 said Pakistani clerics would not be participating in the conference, which the High Peace Council had hoped would help push the peace process forward.
The letter was signed by Mufti Abu Huraira Mohuiddin.He expressed reservations about criticising the Taleban.
Mawlawi Shahzada Shahid, member of the High Peace Council, however, remains optimistic about Pakistan’s participation.
“We are still trying and we are still hoping that the conference will be held and the problems of the two countries will be discussed,” he told Killid.
He clarified the Taleban and Hezb-e-Islami have also been invited to participate following objections raised by Tahir Ashrafi, chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council. He had said the Taleban were stakeholders in the peace process, and should not be ignored.
Pakistani ulema have also expressed reservations about giving legitimacy to the Hamid Karzai government, which is viewed as pro-US.
According to Mohammad Amin Weqad, Peace High Council member, who was part of a delegation that visited Islamabad on Feb 9 to hold confidence-building meetings, “They told us we would not help those who prevent jihad and give ground to America.” Weqad who was addressing the media here said it was unfortunate “this mentality dominates Pakistan, a country we share 2,400 kms of border with.”
Probing motives
Political analyst Mohammad Osman Osmani wondered about Pakistan’s duplicity. “If Pakistani religious leaders do not participate because of fear of issuing a statement against the Taleban, how come they had called the suicide attacks in tribal areas illegal?”he asked. “The ulema council had condemned suicide attacks at a meeting in July 2011 in a North Waziristan military school,” he said.
Even Pakistan’s Jamiat-e-Islam leader Maulana Fazl Rehman had condemned those behind the suicide attacks, Osmani said.
“I am now surprised that they have decided not to participate in the conference because of fear of having to publicly judge the Taleban,” he observed. He wondered if there was some other motive behind the decision.
The Peace High Council’s invitation to the Pakistan Ulema council had divided Pakistani clerics in two groups.
Wahid Muzhda, political analyst and former official in the Taleban foreign ministry, believes the conference has been sabotaged in an effort to prevent splits in the Pakistani ulema. “Fear of Taleban attack can also be a reason as they have threatened to target participants,” he added.
Ghulam Jailani Zwak, political analyst, wondered if the Pakistani Ulema Council was not doing the bidding of the ISI, Pakistan’s secretive and very powerful military intelligence. “It was not important for them (ulema) what God says and what God’s book says. Rather, the important point was what the ISI says,” he insisted.
With Pakistan backing out, plans for an international conference of religious authorities are again under consideration. Earlier, it was decided to hold an international conference only after a meeting of clerics from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
High Peace Council member Shahid said religious leaders from all over the world would be invited. “The High Peace Council is trying to hold the conference. But if it is not possible, we religious leaders would hold a conference. Naturally Pakistan will also be invited,” he clarified.
Hajji Mohammad Musa Hotak, another member, said the conference could be hosted outside Afghanistan – in Saudi Arabia, Turkey or Dubai.
