July 20, 2007	Friday	Rajab 04, 1428

LANDI KOTAL (Khyber Agency), July 19: The Landi Kotal tribal administration has urged local clerics to stop delivering inflammatory sermons against the government. Assistant Political Agent Landi Kotal Ahmad Khan Aurakzai held two separate meetings with clerics belonging to two separate schools of thought on Wednesday and Thursday. Officials said that at least 35 religious leaders attended the meeting, which was held in a ‘cordial atmosphere’.

Last Friday, some clerics had condemned the Lal Masjid operation in their sermons and one of them, Mohammad Umar Baburi, had even declared a ‘jihad’ against the government. Observers believed that the authorities wanted to make sure that the prayer leaders were pacified before they delivered next Friday sermons. The meetings were first of their kind held in the past two decades.The meetings discussed the national law and order situation, especially in the tribal areas. The authorities urged the clerics to counter anti-state and anti-government propaganda being aired by certain elements.

Officials said that they were concerned about rumours about a possible military action by ‘foreign forces’ in tribal areas. Landi Kotal political tehsildar Rehan Gul Khattak told Dawn that the clerics were given firm assurances that no such plan was being considered as the law and order situation in the area was comparatively better than other tribal areas.

It was also learnt that frequent visits by allied forces to the Afghan side of the Torkhum border had aroused some suspicion among local residents. Some ulemas were also concerned about an impending ‘operation’ against some local madressahs.

Rehan Gul Khattak said that the officials had told the clerics clearly that no action would be taken against the seminaries, removing the ulema’s misgivings about any such operation.

Mufti Ejaz, a local cleric and an activist of the Jamiat Ulama Islam said that though he did not attended the meeting, but his colleagues had told him that the administration had removed most of their fears. However, he said, the clerics had told the authorities that no action should be taken against seminaries without taking them into confidence otherwise it would have negative repercussions.

Many people in Landi Kotal believed that the two meetings were necessitated after extremists carried out a rocket attack on the army camp on July 5 and a blast outside a maternity clinic on July 12.