Representatives of political and religious organisations, on Sunday, unanimously declared that the entire nation was united in the face of any Indian aggression in the wake of the attack in Indian-held Kashmir. Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman, Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, presided over a press conference at Lahore Press Club, which was attended by a number of religious scholars, including Allama Zubair Ahmed Zaheer, Allama Ziaul Haq Naqshbandi, Allama Tahirul Hassan, Allama Ghulam Akbar Saqi, Maulana Muhammad Hanif Bhatti, Prof. Zakirur Rehman, Allama Tariq Yazdani, Maulana Asadullah Farooq, Maulana Asidur Rehman Saaedi, Maulana Abdul Haqeem Athar, Maulana Zubair Zahid, Qari Javed Akhtar and Maulana Abdul Qayyum Farooqi. The clerics advised India to address the ongoing atrocities in the occupied region in the light of the UN resolutions on the issue instead of waging menacing threats to Pakistan. Hafiz Ashrafi relayed that Pakistan had already sacrificed enough to eliminate the menace of terrorism, which should never be forgotten. He believed that both the ruling administration and Pakistanis were united to befittingly respond to any Indian aggression. The cleric claimed that Kalboshan Yadev majorly validated Indian involvement with the ongoing wave of terrorism hitting Pakistan. He was glad that the international community had acknowledged for the services Pakistan had undertaken to root out the menace of terrorism. The Indian government appeared to use the attack in Pulwama to undermine the success of Saudi Crown Prince, Muhammad bin Salman’s maiden visit to Pakistan, he maintained. Maulana Ashrafi denied Indian allegations on a seminary in Bahawalpur and claimed that no illegal or terrorism-related activity had taken place in the well-known centre of Islamic education with as many as six hundred seminary students. The participants underlined the Indian atrocities on the people of Kashmir, which had left them with no other option but to get involved with terrorism. Faithfuls of different religions, including Christianity, Sikhism and Islam, were said to be mercilessly treated by Indian Hindu fanatics, the leaders further maintaining that as many as 160 mosques and 260 churches were set ablaze by fanatic Hindu extremists in India in the last three years. The religious leaders believed that all Pakistanis endorsed the stance of Prime Minister Imran Khan to retaliate any Indian aggression and stood behind the Pakistani Army. Hafiz Ashrafi also talked of plans of hold the fourth International Message of Islam Conference on March, 3, at Convention Centre, in Islamabad, which would be attended by 5000 leading clerics across Pakistan as well as representatives from the Islamic world. The conference would proceed with the president of the Palestinian Shariah Court as its chief guest, and strive to come up with a unanimous stance of the Muslim Ummah to eliminate the menaces of terrorism, extremism and sectarian violence, he added. Maulana Ashrafi also hailed the brotherly ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to be grounded in faith, further cemented with the visit of Crown Prince. Saudi Arabia was said to have signed agreements with Pakistan to boost cooperation in different sectors specifically in energy and trade. Hafiz Ashrafi further maintained that during their visit to India, Saudi Crown Prince and Saudi Foreign Minister Adil Al-Jabir had rejected Indian allegations against Pakistan and requested the Indian government to resolve these issues peacefully. The Saudi prince had also endorsed Pakistan for its efforts to maintain regional peace and stability. Published in Daily Times, February 25th 2019.