PESHAWAR, Aug 19: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said state agencies are hatching conspiracies to sow seeds of discord among religious parties and divide the Wafaqul Madaris, the country’s main organisation which supervises seminaries.

Speaking at a degree-awarding ceremony at a seminary here on Sunday, the JUI leader accused secret agencies of using students of seminaries against the parties and their leadership.

He said that the US-led war on terror had increased insecurity around the globe, and added that the US “launched a crusade” to protect its own economic and strategic interests.

He said that the Pakistani government should not kill its own people for the sake of Americans.

He said that seminaries were being targeted under a well-planned conspiracy, warning that its repercussions would be extremely dangerous.

About the recently-held Pakistan-Afghanistan peace jirga in Kabul, Maulana Fazl said the event was bound to fail as the Taliban, the key player in the ongoing conflict, was not engaged in the peace talks.

He believed that lasting peace could not be restored to the war-torn country without the Taliban’s involvement.