PESHAWAR: Chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Maulana Samiul Haq has accused western countries of creating Daish or Islamic State militant group and said that they are now trying to build its image in Pakistan.

Talking to reporters here at his party office on Friday, the JUI-S chief said Daish did not exist in Pakistan.

“America and its allies are trying to project Daish in Pakistan through wall chalking,” he said when asked about the militant group’s presence in the country.

“In fact America is trying to blackmail Saudi Arabia and Iran by creating Daish to establish its hegemony in the region,” said Maulana Sami who is a staunch supporter of Taliban movement in Afghanistan.

He accused the United States of protecting Daish to justify its presence in Afghanistan and achieve its other objectives.

He alleged that the US had provided protection to Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and later depicted him as a menace for the West.

Appreciating remarks made by Adviser to Prime Minister on National Secu­rity and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz remarks about the Haqqani Network, the JUI-S chief said he (Sartaj) should stand by his statement.

Answering a question, he said Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri should explain their slogans of change or revolution. Like Imran and Qadri, he added, he also did not believe in the existing system in the country.

Maulana Sami said Imran and Qadri were taking credit for creating political awareness among the masses by organising prolonged protests. But, he added, the fact was that the ongoing agitation had increased problems of internally displaced persons because they had diverted government’s attention from agonies of the IDPs.

He asked the government to allow IDPs to return to the areas which had been cleared.

Published in Dawn, November 21th, 2014