Six religious groups form pro-Saudi alliance

Karachi
Six religious groups have formed an alliance to organise a campaign across the country in support of Saudi Arabia’s attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen, The News learnt on Sunday.
The alliance named “Tehreek-Difah-e-Harmain Sharifain” includes the Ahle-Sunnat Wal Jammat (ASWJ), the Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Samiul Haq (JUI-S), the Ansarul Ummah aka the banned Harkatul Mujahideen, the Pakistan Shariat Council, the Jamiat-ul-Mashaigh and the Majlis Ahrar-e-Islam - all of them belonging to the Deobandi school of thought.
The alliance was formed in a meeting of the central leaders of these religious parties on March 28 in Lahore.
JUI-S Sindh chapter general secretary Hafiz Ahmed Ali, who attended the meeting, said the newly-formed alliance will stage rallies in support of the Saudis and also organise public gatherings to remove misconceptions about the current situation in Yemen.
They will invite other religious parties of the Barelvi and Ahle-Hadith schools of thought for an extended platform of the alliance.
“It is the religious responsibility of every Muslim individual to protect the Haramain Sharifainm,” Ali told The News
In a meeting scheduled on April 2, the alliance will chalk out a plan to conduct the campaign across the country, including Karachi.
The provincial leaders of the component parties will also soon meet in Karachi to announce their strategy.
The conveyor of the alliance is Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi, a central leader of the JUI-S, while Allama Muhammad Ahmed Ludhyanvi, Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil, Maulana Pir Saifullah Khalid, Maulana Zahid Alrashidi and Haji Abdul Latif Cheema are members of its coordination committee.