Posted on 09/19/2001 8:51:28 AM PDT by Kerensky
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) -
The head of a grouping of 35 Pakistani Islamic organizations said Wednesday they would have to obey any Taliban order for a religious war if the United States attacked Afghanistan.
Maulana Sami-ul Haq, chairman of the Pakistan and Defense Council that includes 35 pro-Taliban Islamic groups, warned Pakistan's military leader General Pervez Musharraf against backing the U.S. campaign against the Taliban and their ``guest'' Osama bin Laden.
Haq's statements at a news conference in Rawalpindi, beside the capital Islamabad, coincided with a gathering of clerics in the Afghan capital Kabul that could issue a call for jihad, or a religious war, against the United States and its supporters.
``If the ulema give an edict of jihad against American aggression and they also use Pakistan for it, then the entire ulema of the Islamic world and Pakistan will have to support that edict of jihad,'' Haq said.
The United States, which has vowed to punish those behind last week's attacks on New York and Washington, has identified Saudi-born dissident bin Laden as the key suspect. Bin Laden has denied any involvement in the attacks.
Anti-U.S. demonstrators wave a burning replica of an American flag during a protest rally in the Pakistan city of Peshawar September 19, 2001. The head of a grouping of 35 Pakistani Islamic organizations said they would have to obey any Taliban order for a religious war if the U.S. (Erik De Castro/Reuters)
Protestors burning flag at the U.S. Embassy.
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Pakistani protesters hold a banner at a protest in support of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban and Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the attacks on the United States last week, in Karachi, September 19, 2001. Around 1000 supporters of a militant Islamic group, fearing U.S. military strikes on Afghanistan, held the peaceful protest. Many people in Muslim Pakistan are opposed to Islamabad's support to Washington in its "war on terrorism". REUTERS/Akbar Baloch
Pakistanis in the port city of Karachi display banners in support of Osama bin Laden at a demonstration organized by a militant Islamic group, September 18, 2001. About 600 demonstrators, fearing U.S. military strikes on Afghanistan, held the peaceful protest. Many people in Muslim Pakistan are opposed to Islamabad's support for Washington in its 'war on terrorism'. (Akbar Baloch/Reuters)
If they want to die for their cause, let's help them do it.
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