Afghanistan's highest body of Islamic clerics ruled Wednesday against the parliament's calls for an amnesty for Afghans suspected of war crimes during a quarter-century of fighting. The religious scholars said the rights of victims are enshrined in Islamic law and should be respected. Fazel Ahmad Mahnavi, a member of the Islamic council, said scholars ruled that the parliament cannot issue a blanket amnesty because only the victims of crimes can forgive the perpetrators. The ruling comes after both houses of the parliament passed a highly controversial resolution calling for an amnesty for Afghans suspected of war crimes during the 1980s anti-Soviet resistance, and the 1990s Afghan civil war.