KARACHI, June 14: The leaders of various religio-political parties of the country said on Friday that there is no place for terrorism in Islam.

They severely condemned the act of terrorism in front of the US Consulate in Karachi, killing at least 11 persons.

Reacting strongly to the incident, they said Islam is a religion of peace and harmony and never allows the killing of innocents in any circumstances.

Naib Amir Jamaat-i-Islami, Prof Ghafoor Ahmed, condemned the incident and expressed sorrow over the deaths of innocent peoples. He said this was the second incident in two months and had happened immediately a day after the visit of US defence secretary.

He criticised the law enforcement agencies saying their competency is “an open secret”. He said that possibility of Indian involvement in the incident could not be ruled out. He demanded immediate investigation into the incident, besides compensations to the families of the victims of the terrorist attack.

A provincial leader of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI Samiul Haq), Maulana Abdul Kamim Abid, strongly condemned the suicide attack in Karachi and saw some foreign hand, probably of India, behind the incident. He termed it a conspiracy against Pakistan to damage its image in the eyes of the world community and to affect foreign investment in the country.

Qari Usman, secretary information JUI (Fazalur Rehman), termed the terrorist act as a conspiracy against Pakistan and the religious parties of the country. “Islam is a peaceful religion and is against any act of terrorism. It was an act carried out to harm the image of Islam.”

City chief of the Jamiat Ulema Pakistan (JUP), Hafiz Taqi, said the act had been committed by the forces that wanted Pakistan to become an arena of conflict between religious organisations and the US, “which is against the country’s interests.”

Abbas Kumali, chief of the Jaferya Alliance (JA), and Maulana Hasan Naqvi, a central leader of the Alliance, also condemned the terrorist attack and said it was an act of anti-nation elements which were trying to defame Pakistan globally by branding it as a dangerous country “although only Pakistanis are being killed in these incidents.”

Merajul Huda Siddiqui, Amir JI Karachi, also condemned the incident and blamed it on India. He said that Pakistan had been a victim of terrorism unleashed by India, and the UN should pressurise India to desist from acts of terrorism in Pakistan and Occupied Kashmir.