The Ulema Council of Afghanistan on Wednesday condemned Monday’s attack on Kabul University and labelled it as the “most ignorant type of war”.
The council also called on government to immediately lift restrictions on security forces and allow them to take urgent action against the perpetrators.
“It is a shame that the planners of this attack make peace with foreigners, but kill their own people,” said Waiz Zada Behsodi, a religious scholar.
This comes after ISIS (Daesh) gunmen went on a shooting rampage at Kabul University on Monday, killing at least 20 students.
The Taliban immediately distanced itself from the six-hour long siege, which Daesh then claimed responsibility for.
However, a number of officials, including First Vice President Amrullah Saleh have blamed the attack on the Taliban – saying it has the hallmarks of the insurgent group.
Any major attack against a populated city in Afghanistan, by the Taliban, is in contravention of the February deal between the group and the US.
The conditions-based agreement states that the Taliban may not attack major urban areas nor may it attack foreign forces.
It was this agreement that also paved the way for peace talks which started between the Afghan government’s representatives and the Taliban on September 12. However, those talks have all but stalled in recent weeks.
Instead, a marked increase in violence has marred the hoped-for peace landscape in the country.
In a bid to restart talks, members of the Afghan peace talks team met with Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, on Wednesday and discussed the peace process, the situation in Afghanistan after the signing of the Taliban agreement with the US and the daily sacrifices made by Afghans due to the ongoing war.
During the meeting Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi said that Islam is a religion of unity and brotherhood and that war between Muslims is wrong.
Acknowledging the declaration of the International Union of Islamic Scholars, he advised all parties to exercise flexibility and take steps towards peace.
“The verses of the [Holy] Qur’an have been changed; they [Taliban] are negotiating with foreigners; but they do not make peace with their [own] people,” said Mohammad Qasim Halimi, Afghanistan’s Acting Minister of Hajj and Religious Affairs.
Afghans worldwide were shocked by the brutal attack on students on Monday and large groups have come together in different countries, including Doha, to hold prayer sessions for the victims of the university attack.
In addition, at least 50 countries spoke out against the attack and condemned it in the strongest terms.
