Pakistan has handed over all available 'proofs', to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFAs), regarding Indian involvement in terrorist activities here, and the issue would be taken up with New Delhi during the Pak-India composite dialogue. Pakistan and Afghanistan are going to sign an 'Action Plan' about the 'management' of their over 2000-kilometre porous border to effectively check the cross-border infiltration of terrorists as well as smuggling of weapons.
Further, the ulema from different schools of thought, including Ahle-Hadith, Deobandi, Ahle-Tashee, Ahle-Sunnat, Baralvi, Dawat-e-Islami and Sunni Tehreek, have unanimously condemned and declared all sorts of terrorist activities and suicide bombing in the country as 'un-Islamic' and 'haram'.
This was stated by Interior Minister Abdul Rehman Malik at a press briefing after attending a meeting of religious scholars that reviewed the status of terrorists, who have been killing innocent people, in the light of the Holy Quran and Sunnah at Sindh Chief Minister House on Monday.
The meting was attended, among others, by Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, Provincial Minister for Religious Affairs Sajid Jokhio and a group of religious scholars, including Mufti Munibur-Rehman, Turabul Haq Qadri, Muhammad Yousaf Qusoori, Muhammad Shahid Ghauri, Muhammad Rafique Hasni, Ghulam Muhammad Siyalvi, Muhammad Hanif Tayyab, Salman Mujtaba, Abbas Kumaili, Zamir Akhtar Mansoori and others.
Rehman, on special directives of the President and Prime Minister, has been lobbying support of countrywide religious scholars to guard the country's "ideological borders", bring clergy to the mainstream, taking guidance from them and belie the pro-Islam claims of the terrorists.
According to the minister, who said he would submit a formal report to the prime minister, the Karachi briefing would be followed by such briefings in Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta. "Our forthcoming generations would remain in illusion about the terrorists until a unanimous Fatwa (religious decree) is issued against them... today the terrorists' claim of implementing Islam in the country has frustrated," he said.
However, Mufti Munib-ur-Rehman and other ulema told a separate briefing that the meeting was not a fatwa-issuing forum. "Terrorism in all its forms is a crime against Islam, humanity and Pakistan, and all those involved in these crimes are enemies of Islam, Pakistan, humanity and the entire nation," said a joint statement provided to journalists.
The statement says the ulema are concerned about the present law and order situation in the country and unanimously demand of the government that the heirs of the victims of terrorism be given compensation; the injured be provided with medical facilities; and the affectees be rehabilitated at the earliest. Assuring of strong support to the armed forces, the meeting called for unity in the ranks of all sections of the society.
Calling upon the masses to maintain peace and to be watchful towards the terrorists during the month of Muharram, the ulema appealed to the preachers not to issue inflammatory statements in media and public gatherings. The religious scholars also demanded of the government to maintain record of "majalis" and speeches and take the violators to task without any discrimination.
Later, responding to a query, Rehamn said the government had handed over all available proofs on involvement of India in terrorist activities in Pakistan to the MoFAs. "We would try that this issue could be taken up during the composite dialogue", he added.
The interior minister said that Islamabad and Kabul were going to sign an Action Plan to better the management of their mountainous, therefore, porous border, through which the terrorists and weapons were sneaking into Pakistan. He said the two sides had also agreed to establish "bio-military" check posts at the three main crossing points on Pak-Afghan border.
He reiterated government's stance about the alleged presence of al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, saying that anyone with a proof should inform Pakistani agencies, which are competent enough to detect the terrorists on their own. Referring to the unanimous resolutions passed by all legislative bodies of the country against the US drone attacks inside Pakistan, he said that Islamabad has a clear policy of permitting such attacks neither in the past nor in future.