Terror network exposed as facilitator reveals extortion, illegal fatwas and seminary links

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have uncovered links between a kharji facilitator and terrorist networks, with an arrested cleric revealing details about extortion activities, the issuance of non-compliant fatwas, and the use of illegal seminaries for extremist purposes, according to security sources.

Mufti Zafar Yab, the arrested cleric, said he belongs to Jamia Nizam-ul-Uloom, Bannu, and a group of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam. He claimed ties with kharji commander Hikmat Roshan and the Gul Bahadur Shura.

The kharji facilitator said that he initially studied in Jamia Nizam-ul-Uloom, Bannu, and later obtained a qualification in Fiqh from Markaz Islami, Ghoriwala.

He confessed that he was an active companion of kharji commander Hikmat Roshan and remained a member of the Gul Bahadur Shura.

“Kharji commanders used to obtain non-Sharia-compliant fatwas from me for extortion in the name of jihad and for threatening investors,” he said.

“Kharji commander Hikmat Roshan, for this purpose, also used to offer me and various individuals positions and financial benefits,” he added.

“Fitna al-Khwarij has no connection with Islam. These are elements possessing non-Islamic ideologies who also consider the killing of Muslims permissible,” the arrested facilitator said.

According to experts, the facilitator's revelations make it clear that terrorists are using illegal seminaries and self-made religious leaders present there for nefarious objectives.

An agreement on the registration of illegal seminaries between Wafaq-ul-Madaris Al-Arabia and the representative organizations of all religious seminaries of Pakistan (Ittehad Tanzeemat-e-Madaris) has been in effect since 2019, experts say.

Under the agreement, transparent scrutiny of all illegal seminaries and the political parties associated with them is necessary to prevent extremism and assistance to terrorism.

According to experts, after the revelations by the arrested kharji facilitator, bringing illegal seminaries under the jurisdiction of the Directorate General of Religious Education under the National Action Plan has become inevitable.