One of the key demands of Kabul from Islamabad has been to encourage Pakistani clerics to issue a fatwa against the ongoing war in Afghanistan. To challenge Pakistan’s claims in the war against terrorists, Afghan government wants Pakistani clerics, who are providing an ideological and intellectual lifeline to militant groups, especially Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network, to issue a fatwa declaring the insurgency in Afghanistan as un-Islamic. During his visit to Kabul, Pakistan’s Chief of Army had agreed and promised to encourage Pakistani Ulema to issue an anti-war religious ruling. However, Islamabad is yet to honor the promise like those of the past.
Now, there are renewed efforts to follow the issue through. Afghan and Pakistani clerics have underlined the need for joint efforts help jump-start the virtually stalled Afghan peace process. According to reports, the clerics of both countries met on Saturday in Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The scholars have emphasized that peace is the best option, and both sides have promised to work for peace in Afghanistan.
Taking into considering the role of clerics in peace and stability, any contacts and meetings between the scholars of both countries are useful, but Islamabad is unfortunately not honest in this endeavor. The Pakistani clerics, who wield enormous influence among Taliban, have not attended the recent meeting. It shows that Pakistan is not yet ready to encourage its scholars to issue a fatwa against Afghan war. The absence of influential Pakistani clerics from such meetings suggests that Islamabad is still trying to waste time, and wait for the fall of Afghan government and the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. If there really is a shift in Pakistan’s policy towards Afghanistan, the Pakistani clerics, who are backing Afghan Taliban and the war in Afghanistan, should attend future meetings as decided by both sides in the recent meeting. Otherwise, the gatherings of clerics will also get nowhere similar to other peace efforts made so far. Achieving peace requires actions not promises, something the Pakistani side has so far fallen short of.
