Afghan Govt Calls on Pakistan to Crack Down on Extremists

In response to a recent statement by a Pakistani extremist cleric Hamid-ul-Haq, the head of Pakistan-based Haqqania Madarassa, the Afghan government on Saturday called on the Pakistani government to swiftly crack down on those madrassas that are involved in promoting extremism and fundamentalism in the region.

Hamid-ul-Haq is the son of Mawlana Sami-ul-Haq, a former cleric considered as the spiritual leader of the Taliban.

In a recent statement, Hamid-ul-Haq asked the Afghan government to surrender to the Taliban and let the group to establish Islamic government in the country.

The government said that Kabul does not give importance to such “meaningless” statements, stating that these madrassas in fact have been the main source of destruction of Afghanistan and expanding extremism in the region.

“Those madrassas that spread jihadism and destruction in Afghanistan must be stopped,” presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said.

The Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs said that Hamid-ul-Haq’s statements have roots in the Pakistan’s intelligence agencies and that it “clearly indicates Pakistan’s support to terrorism.”

The extremist Pakistani cleric Hamid-ul-Haq said that the Taliban has won the war in Afghanistan.

“You must surrender to the Taliban and lay down your arms,” said Hamid-ul-Haq.

“He is a puppet of Pakistan’s intelligence agencies and he frequently make such statements about Kashmir and Afghanistan. Also his father was brutally killed by (Pakistani) intelligence agency and his destiny will be the same,” said Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar, former deputy governor of Helmand.

“They have committed the most grave treason for Afghanistan and Muslim nations,” said Bilqis Rosha, an MP.

Afghanistan and many other countries have persistently said that Pakistani madrassas are prompting terrorism and extremism.

In 2018, Hamid-ul-Haq’s father Maulana Sami ul Haq, the chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan, was killed in an attack in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi city.

Sami-ul-Haq was known as the spiritual father of the Taliban.