Fazl calls for dialogue to solve Pak-Afghan tensions

ISLAMABAD: Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) has urged the decision makers of Pakistan and Afghanistan to form a commission to solve the bilateral problems through dialogue and mutual understanding.

He warned that one-sided decisions would damage the relations between the two countries and serve the interests of the international agenda.

Speaking at a seminar on the Afghan refugee issue in Islamabad on Thursday, Fazl said that Afghanistan had taken a fatwa from its scholars that armed action in Pakistan could not be called jihad. He said that this was a positive step and hoped that the Afghan government would also respect the sovereignty and security of Pakistan.

Fazlur Rehman expressed his concern over the plight of the Afghan refugees, who were being expelled from Pakistan as illegal immigrants.

He questioned the logic of this policy, saying that the refugees had been living in Pakistan for decades and had contributed to the economy and society.

He said that the problem of the Afghan refugees was two-sided and that if there were complaints the whole community should not be punished.

Maulana Fazl also criticized the US intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq, saying that it had caused immense human suffering and destruction.

He said that the US had attacked Afghanistan on false information and had left the country in disgrace.

He said that the US had no right to shed human blood wherever it wanted in the name of human rights. He said that peace always came with justice and that if there was injustice there could be no peace.