Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Osama likely in custody, says 'Father of Taliban'

Osama bin Laden is most likely alive and in the custody of intelligence agencies in the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, said Pakistani Islamic scholar Maulana Sami ul-Haq, who is often referred to as the “Father of Taliban”.
“I don’t think Osama is on the run anymore or hiding anywhere in the region,” said Maulana ul-Haq.
Haq runs the Dar Uloom Haqqania madrassa (religious school) which produced most of the Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, including their leader, Mullah Omar.
[ ... ]
Speaking about the Pak-Afghan border, he said: “People should realise that there are hundreds of ways to land in these mountains, but no way out except death.”
When asked about the perceived Talibanisation of his own country (Pakistan), by madrassa students, he said: “There is no such thing as Taliban in Pakistan. You can’t call any Pashtun with family ties in Afghanistan, a Pakistani Taliban. These incidents of suicide bombings are a direct reaction to air strikes on their homes in the border areas.”
When asked if he or his school endorsed suicide bombings, the Maulana said : “We should look into why they (bombers) are ready to do it. If Bush’s war in Iraq and killing of innocent people there is ‘Halal’ then yes, suicide bombings are ‘Halal’ too. And if he (Bush) is against the killings and illegal wars, then we are against suicide bombings as well.”
On why he was denied entry into the EU, as member of a Senate Committee team, Ul-Haq said: “I was told the EU parliament won’t allow me to enter or speak to its members. Anti-western statements made by me were shown to me. The whole delegation had to come back.”
Asked if he did really give those statements, ul-Haq said: “Look, I was addressing a huge election rally, and in the heat of the moment and to impress the voters, I said those things. Which politician does not resort to rhetoric?”
Maulana Sami ul-Haq was part of a Senate Foreign Committee team that visited Doha last week.

No comments:

Post a Comment