The Council of Pakistani Scholars condemned Iran for conspiring against Muslim nations and supporting terror groups to “shake the security and stability of Muslim countries”, Al Arabiya reports.
In a statement issued on Wednesday at their conference named ‘Call of the Nation’ in Islamabad, chaired by the council’s chief Tahir Ashrafi, and attended by prominent scholars and Muslim association leaders, Ashrafi voiced deep concern about granting the Iranian port of Chabahar to India.
He said that the move contradicts Pakistan’s regional interests and will escalate tensions in the region.
The scholars called on the Iranian government to review this decision and said that Iran is planning to move ISIS members to Afghanistan via Chabahar and use the port for “espionage and terror activities” against Pakistan. They also voiced their support for sending a Pakistani army unit to Saudi Arabia for training, adding that they fully support the decisions made by the kingdom to defend its security.
They also warned Muslim countries of Iran’s agenda and mentioned the country’s attempts to internationalize Hajj and Umrah. Sheikh Tahir al-Ashrafi, the head of the Council of Pakistani Scholars, confirmed that Iran’s latest demand for the internationalization of the Muslim hajj pilgrimage is a resentful attack on Saudi Arabia.
He added that their attempts will not work as the kingdom, under the leadership of King Salman bin Abdulaziz, works tirelessly for their holy sites, shown more recently with the new developments and construction that aims to facilitate pilgrimage for the millions of annual visitors.
Ashrafi also condemned the attempt to place Pakistan on a terrorist financing watch list and said this was a conspiracy against Pakistan.
Commenting on developments in Syria’s besieged province of Ghouta, they voiced their worry about the “massacres” committed against Muslims there and called on Russia, Iran, and the U.S. to stop foreign interferences in Syria and let the Syrian people decide their fate instead of resorting to bloodshed to save the Assad regime.
The scholars added that they will call on all mosques on Friday to take part in the ‘Day of Condemnation’ to voice their solidarity with the Syrian people.