Fatwa declares Operation Zarb-e-Azb a jihad

Decree says nation is bound to support the ongoing operation in North Waziristan Agency

ISLAMABAD: Over 100 ulema from various schools of thought on Sunday declared Zarb-e-Azb, the ongoing military operation against militants in North Waziristan, as jihad.

The meeting of ulema, which was organised by Sunni Ulema Board here on Sunday, in its decree (fatwa) referred Verse No.33 of Surah-e- Almaidah of the Holy Quran, which says:"Crushing of the attempts to disrupt peaceful atmosphere in a Muslim state is jihad."

The decree said the nation was bound to support the ongoing operation in North Waziristan Agency and the people opposing the operation were rebels as per Islamic Shariah.

It added that the state had the right to deal rebels with an iron hand as militants had murdered hundreds of innocent people and targeted various schools, shrines, hospitals, and innocent people. Islam, it said, 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 Saeed ur Rehman, Allma Pir Ghulam Mustafa Shakir,, Allama Abdul Latif Qadrim Allama Khalilur Rehman Qadri, Mufti Mohammad Farooq Chishti, Pir Syed Waseem ul 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 MohammadShahid Mehmood Abbasi, Allama Riaz Ahmed Hazarvi and others. APP