LAHORE:At least 50 religious scholars of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) issued a collective fatwa (decree) on Tuesday against suicide bombings, killing of innocent people, bomb attacks, and targeted killings declaring them as Haram or forbidden, DawnNews reported.

The council also demanded that the government review the syllabi of those madressas (seminaries) which are propagating extremist views.

Acting on an appeal by the SIC chief, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, 50 muftis (clerics) issued a fatwa against suicide bombings, killing of innocent people, bomb attacks, and targeted killings declaring them as un-islamic, keeping in view the recent terrorist attacks in Peshawar, Quetta and Nanga Parbat.

The decree said that according to Islam suicide was Haram (forbidden), murder was a sin second only to Shirk and killing foreign guests was the worst crime.

The decree went on to declare drone attacks as a violation of international law and as an act of cruelty.

Moreover all soldiers who had lost their lives in terrorist attacks were declared as Shaheed (martyrs) and national heroes, according to the fatwa.