LAHORE: The Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) has issued a Fatwa (decree) declaring suicide attacks as Haram (un-Islamic) and killing of foreign guests as a heinous crime, Geo News reported Tuesday.

The consensus Fatwa issued by fifty Ulema of SIC termed the crushing of those resorting to an armed revolt against a Muslim state as mandatory on part of the government.

“The Pakistani Taliban who declare the killings of Muslims as legitimate are actually the outcasts of the present era,” the statement said.

The statement further said that murder is the next big sin after Shirk (having faith in more than one God).

“Attacking mosques, Mazars, hospitals, funerals, educational institutions, markets and security forces is not Jihad but chaos. Those who shed the blood of girl students, foreign mountaineers and innocent human beings are defectors of Islam and rebels of Pakistan,” it declared.

It said extending cooperation to the government for a Jihad against terrorists is a duty of every citizen. “The right place for waging a Jihad against the US is Afghanistan and not Pakistan,” it added.

The Fatwa declared the drone strikes as violation of international laws and atrocity on part of the US.