ISLAMABAD: Noted Pakistani religious scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani has issued an edict saying armed activity against the state was “rebellion and haram according to Islamic law,” Radio Pakistan reported on Tuesday, as the South Asian country witnesses a surge in militant attacks.
Attacks, a majority of which have been claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, increased after the outlawed group in November ended a ceasefire with the Pakistani government that was brokered by the Afghan Taliban last May.
The Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have waged an insurgency in Pakistan for more than 15 years, fighting for a stricter enforcement of Islamic law, the release of their members in government custody and a reduction in the Pakistani military’s presence in the country’s tribal districts that border Afghanistan.
Usmani's decree was adopted by scholars from all schools of thought at a national conference on ‘countering violent extremism, radicalism and hate speech’ held in Islamabad.
"The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, who are fighting against Pakistan Army and are involved in anti-state activities, are rebels," the noted scholar was quoted as saying by the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster.
In this file photo taken on October 21, 2018, Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (left) addresses a conference in Karachi (Photo courtesy: Jamia Dar-ul-Uloom Karachi/File)
"Fighting against national security agencies and carrying out anti-state activities come under mutiny and it has nothing to do with Jihad."
“Any armed activity against the state of Pakistan is a rebellion and haram according to Islamic law,” the report added.
The statement comes days after militants attacked a police checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan, killing two officers and wounding another late Saturday. In December, TTP fighters detained at a counter-terrorism facility in Bannu seized the compound and took staff hostage. The Pakistani army launched an operation to retake the centre, saying it killed 25 militants in the process.
Since the TTP surge, Pakistan has ruled out negotiations with militants and called on the Afghan Taliban to keep militant groups from reorganizing on its soil and abide by its commitments to the international community not to allow its territory to be used by terror groups.
