KABUL - The Meshrano Jirga -- upper house of parliament -- on Sunday decided to refer a draft containing Abdul Rab Rassoul Sayyaf's remarks on suicide attacks to the government for implementation.
On Saturday, the renowned jihadi commander challenged international scholars to offer a justification for suicide attacks. Also a Wolesi Jirga member, he threw the gauntlet to ulema at a ceremony marking the 11th death anniversary of Ahmad Shah Masood.

The Dawat Party head believed peace could not be achieved with requests, saying practical steps were needed to stabilize the country. He said the killers of innocent civilians should be hanged and their limbs severed.
The upper house lent its weight to Sayyaf's comments. A lawmaker from Faryab province, Syed Farrukh Janab, said Sayyaf had exposed the real face of so-called muftis, suggesting the only way to peace was to implement his remarks.

He said religious scholars should convey Sayyaf's message to the people so no one could choose the wrong path. "Suicide bombers think that their attacks are justified by Islam. It is the duty of scholars to tell the people that such attacks have no justification,"

He suggested the government should ensure the protection of respected religious scholars and assign them with giving public sermons on the subject.

Another legislator from western Herat province, Shehnaz Ghausi, said: "If suicide attackers are hanged to death, no one would dare commit such crime." As long as harsh action was not taken, Afghanistan would continue to face security problems, she warned. A public representative from southern Zabul province, Mohammad Daud Ihsas hoped Sayyaf's comments, if implemented, could help end the ongoing violence in the country. He demanded suicide bombers who had been arrested should be hanged to death.

Chairman Fazl Hadi Muslimyar said the house would prepare a draft of Sayyaf's comments and present it to the government for implementation. All the 60 lawmakers present supported Muslimyar's suggestion. (Pajhwok)