"Military operations are not the solution of any problem," Hafiz Hussein Ahmed, deputy secretary-general of the Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI), which belongs to the Deobandi school of thought, told IslamOnlin.
Jets and helicopters bombarded on Monday, May 18, targets in Swat, once a popular tourist destination, as the deadly offensive against Taliban entered its fourth week.
The military says its troops are closing in on Mingora, the capital of Swat and a Taliban stronghold.
Authorities say more than 1,000 militants and at least 46 soldiers have been killed in the onslaught launched in late April against Lower Dir, Buner and Swat districts.
IslamOnline in Swat (Special Folder) The military says up to 15,000 troops were taking on about 4,000 well-armed fighters. For scholars from the Deobandi school, who mainly follow Abu Hanifa Madhab, both Taliban and the government are responsible for the ongoing bloodshed.
"You resolve the issues through talks, rather than a military operation or a war," insists Ahmed.
"The prime minister is saying that military action is not the solution of the problem, and there must be some political arrangements," he said, referring to Yousaf Raza Gilani’s recent briefing on the operation in the parliament.
"We are saying the same thing."
The UN refugee agency said more than 1.1 million people have fled the fighting and registered with authorities since May 2.
They join another 500,000 people who fled fighting between government forces and Taliban last year.
Right
Ahmed, the JUI deputy chief, believes the Swat offensive is a direct outcome of President Asif Zardari’s recent visit to Washington. "This all was pre-planned and had to occur in any case because it suits America to bring Pakistanis against each other," he argues.
"The US aid always needs blood in return. And that blood is being shed in Swat."
The government ordered the offensive under mounting US pressure after Taliban took up positions in Buner, just 100 kilometers from Islamabad, in what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described as "an existential threat" to Pakistan.
But scholars from the Brelvi school of thought, who mainly follow Hanafi Madhab, believe that the government is doing the right thing by taking on the militants.
"The army… is acting against those who have been masquerading themselves as exponents of Jihad and Islam," Sahibzada Haji Fazal Karim, head of the Jamiat Ulema Pakistan (JUP), which is affiliated with the Barelvi school, told IOL.
"They are enemies of state, and it is obligatory on the state to act against them with full force."
Several religious groups belonging to Brelvi have formed the Save Pakistan alliance to launch a countrywide campaign against Taliban.
"We do not accept any interpretation of Shari`ah under which the killing of civilians is allowed," insisted Karim.
Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, chairman of the Moon Sighting Committee and a prominent Barelvi scholar, agrees.
Reference by:http://islamonline.com/news/articles
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