A prayer leader from Miranshah has said there are no foreign militants or militant training centres in the Waziristan Agency, adding that if US or NATO forces attack the area, tribal people would wage a jihad against them. “Waziristan tribesmen will launch attacks on the US-led allied forces in Afghanistan if the US attacks the Waziristan Agency,” stated Maulana Muhammad Yaseen Naumani in a statement issued here on Friday.
The prayer leader at Gul Pakhel Jamia Masjid in Miranshah said the US was targeting Muslims around the world merely on the basis of their religion. “We are regretful — not for the US — but for the Muslims who support their attacks on Muslims,” he said. He said the Pakistan army should stop attacking citizens on US directives, warning that otherwise Pakistani soldiers would also face aggression. He appealed to the leaders of opposition political parties to play their role in preventing any war in the region “otherwise the fire in Waziristan will engulf the entire country”.
“We also appeal to the government to remove army check posts from the agency and send the military back to its barracks. It will be better for government, army and Waziristan residents to jointly resolve law and order issues and foreign threats to the agency through dialogue,” the local cleric said. He demanded the government end the “meaningless battle” that, he said, was only serving the US and anti-Pakistan elements’ interests.