In October last year, Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa travelled to Kabul and agreed that Pakistan would seek a ‘fatwa’ or religious decree from its religious scholars against suicide bombings inside Afghanistan, however, according to a report by a private media outlet, it was not just Pakistan that agreed to seeking the fatwa, it was a ‘mutual commitment’, meaning that both the sides would seek a fatwa from their respective religious scholars against suicide bombings.
According to the report, both the sides agreed to obtain a ‘fatwa’ from their religious scholars, declaring suicide attacks being perpetrated by outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliates inside as un-Islamic.
As per the agreement, 1,800 Pakistani clerics unveiled the edict at a government-sponsored event in Islamabad. The directive declared as un-Islamic acts that include suicide bombings, sectarianism, and calls for jihad in the name of religion without the consent of the state.
However, the Afghan side rescinded its commitment and no such development has been made thus far. Furthermore, Afghanistan is also not convinced with Pakistan’s move, insisting that Pakistani fatwa should have explicitly mentioned Afghanistan.
President Ashraf Ghani said the Pakistani fatwa should have included the entire Muslim world including Afghanistan.
Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, however, clarified that the suicide bombing was un-Islamic “whether it takes place on the moon or in any part of the world” in an effort to dispel the impression the move was not sufficient enough to cover Afghanistan.