KABUL - Noted jihadi leader Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf on Friday denounced the Taliban uprising against the government of Prof. Burhanuddin Rabbani as un-Islamic.

Addressing an event marking the second death anniversary of the ex-chairman of the High Peace Council in Kabul, Sayyaf challenged all Muslim scholars to justify the Taliban revolt.

Assassinated by a Taliban bomber at his residence in the diplomatic district of Wazir Akbar Khan two years ago, Rabbani’s death anniversary is being marked today.

Separately, First Vice-President Mohammad Qaseem Fahim, Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, PHC Chairman Salahuddin Rabbani and Interior Minister Omar Daudzai placed a floral wreath the ex-president’s mausoleum.

Sayyaf once again made clear that suicide attacks had no justification in Islam and the perpetrators would face Allah wrath. “At the same venue, I had asked all Muslim scholars last year to prove the legality of these attacks.”

But none of them has responded to his challenge so far, according to the parliamentarian, who vowed to cling to his stance and remain vocal on the issue. “Not a mufti, I only quote from the Holy Quran and Hadith,” he added.

He once again asked ulema across the globe to validate an uprising against a Muslim ruler. All Afghan scholars agree that rising against a Muslim ruler, who may be corrupt, is against the religion, according to Sayyaf.

“A pious Muslim scholar of great erudition, Prof. Rabbani was not corrupt. The Taliban’s uprising against his government was an unfair and un-Islamic act,” he reiterated, blaming militants for the ongoing wave of killings.

Sayyaf urged the government to take more effective measures to eradicate increasing administrative graft. The government and people should join hands against the menace, he believed.

Deputy Speaker of Wolesi Jirga Mirwais Yasini, Senate Chairman Fazal Hadi Muslimyar, MP Ustad Akbari and Balkh Governor Atta Mohammad Noor also spoke on the occasion. (Pajhwok)