ISLAMABAD, March 21: About 30 leading religious scholars from Rawalpindi and Islamabad declared here on Sunday that there was no legal, constitutional or moral justification for the army operation in Wana.

The ulema, led by Qari Saeedur Rahman, Ghazi Abdur Rashid, Maulana Abdur Rauf and Maulana Abdul Razzaq Haideri, said they would seek signatures of over 500 religious leaders and scholars from all over the country on the edict they had unanimously drafted.

The decision to issue the edict was taken at a meeting held under the auspices of the Jamiat Ulema Ahl-i-Sunnat Wal-Jamaat. The ulema said that people who were being dubbed 'terrorists were in fact true mujahideen who had been trained by Pakistani institutions in the past to wage jihad.