New Delhi, July 19: A senior Muslim cleric today said Indo-Pak relations should not be viewed through the prism of religion and asked the Pakistani ulema and religious organisations to clarify their stand on the so-called "jihad" in Kashmir. "The visit of Pakistani ulema to India is a good step, but we earnestly appeal to the ulema and religious organisations to clarify their views on Osama, al-Qaeda and so-called Kashmiri jihad," Maulana Syed Athar Hussain Dehlavi, chairman of the Anjuman Minhaj-e-Rasool said in a statement.
Releasing the statement here to coincide with the visit of Pakistan's hardline opposition leader and chief of Jamiat-Ulema-Islam party Maulana Fazal-ur Rahman, he asked the Pakistani religious organisations to rise above unnecessary favour or opposition. "Due to the so-called Pakistani jihadi organisation, not only Deoband but the Muslims as a whole are termed as terrorist and disruptive," he said.
He said the Indo-Pak relations should not be viewed through the prism of religion and asked the VHP and other such organisations to desist from their "aggressive stance against Muslims", as such views would weaken the composite culture of the country. Bureau Report