By IANS,
Islamabad : The Pakistani government has received an unexpected boost in its struggle against militancy with eight parties of the Barelvi school of thought coming together under the umbrella of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) to fight the growing Talibanisation in the country.
“The alliance has demanded the Pakistan Army speed up its operation to eliminate the Taliban from the NWFP (North West Frontier Province) and FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) and appealed to the nation to get united against the menace,” The News reported Saturday.
Speaking to reporters at the Lahore Press Club Friday, leaders of the SIC component parties announced the launching of a “Save Pakistan Movement” across the country to stem the menace of Talibanisation.
Terming the Taliban a product of global anti-Islam conspiracies, they charged it with playing into the hands of the US to divide Muslims and bring a bad name to Islam.
Charging the Taliban with belonging to the same school of thought that opposed the creation of Pakistan, they charged the militants with destroying 10 shrines of holy saints in the NWFP besides killing hundreds of Sunni leaders.
The SIC leaders said Sunni muftis would soon issue fatwas against the anti-Islamic practices of the Taliban, and asked the nation to publicly disown the militants.
The Aalmi Tanzim Ahle Sunnat, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, The Markazi Jamaat Ahle Sunnat, the Sunni Tehrik, the Karawan-e-Islam, the Markazi Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, the Nizam-e-Mustafa Party and the Jamaat Ahle Sunnat make up the SIC.