ISLAMABAD: Over 100 ulema from various schools of thought declared on Sunday Zarb-i-Azb, the military operation being carried out against terrorists and militants in North Waziristan Agency, as jihad.

The decree [fatwa] was issued after a meeting of religious scholars which was organisd by the Sunni Ulema Board here on Sunday.

The decree referred Verse No 33 of Surah-i-Almaidah, which says: “Crushing of the attempts to disrupt peaceful atmosphere in a Muslim state is jihad.”

The decree said that the nation was bound to support the ongoing operation in North Waziristan Agency and according to Shariat the people opposing it were rebellious.

Nation is bound to support the NWA military operation

It said that the state had the right to deal rebels with an iron hand as the militants had murdered hundreds of innocent people and targeted schools, shrines, hospitals, etc. Islam, it added, did not allow individual jihad.

The decree was signed by Allama Ghufran Mehmood Sialvi, Mufti Mohammad Shara­fuddin Siddiqui, Mufti Liaquat Ali Rizvi, Mufti Mohammad Usman Rizvi, Mufti Mohammad Hanif Attari, Mufti Mohammad Arif Chishti, Mufti Khateeb Ahmed Alazahri, Mufti Qari Saeedur Rehman, Allama Pir Ghulam Mustafa Shakir, Allama Abdul Latif Qadri, Allama Khalilur Rehman Qadri, Mufti Mohammad Farooq Chishti, Pir Syed Waseemul Haq Naqvi Advocate, Sahibzada Khalid Mehmood Zia, Mufti Sultan Qadri, Allama Mujahid Abdul Rasool Khan, Mufti Mohammad Ayaz Ali Saeedi, Mufti Asif Saeed Qadri, Allama Nisar Ali Noori, Mufti Mohammad Shahbaz Ali, Mufti Mohammad Ahsan Naqeebi, Mufti Mohammad Saleem Qadri, Dr Mohammad Riz­wan Ahmed Rizvi, Dr Ayaz Ahmed Naeemi, Allama Mohammad Shahid Meh­mood Abbasi, Allama Riaz Ahmed Hazarvi and others.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd , 2014