Ulema ask US to accept failure in Afghanistan

Daily Times, August 2, 2008

Staff Report

PESHAWAR: Ittehad Ulema-e-Afghanistan, an organisation of Afghan refugee religious scholars, has urged the US to declare its failure in Afghanistan and immediately withdraw NATO forces from the country, saying that the people of Afghanistan are able to reconstruct their homeland.

According to a pamphlet issued to press on Friday, the Afghan ulema led by Abdullah made three demands from President Bush.

The first demand is to announce US failure in Afghanistan; the second is to withdraw US and allied forces from Afghanistan and the third is to compensate the Afghan government for killing of thousands of people and damaging their houses and property.

“Let the Afghans be free and give them an opportunity to rebuild their country,” the Ittehad Ulema-e-Afghanistan said, adding that after US forces’ arrival and attacks in Afghanistan, the situation became from bad to worse.

It further said that jihad had become obligatory for all the Muslims whether men or women as the non-Muslims were trying to occupy Afghanistan and use it for their bad designs in the region.

The organisation said that atrocities have doubled after the US invasion on Afghanistan and vowed that through jihad they will free their nationals from the US and allied forces’ atrocities.