LeT boss calls for ‘jihad’ against US

‘‘Jihad is the lone weapon with Muslims to safeguard their rights and honour while such US attacks and cruelties on the Muslim would open more doors of the holy war,’’ he was quoted as saying by the The News’ Daily today.

Saeed, who currently heads Jamat ud Dawa, said besides launching jihad, all Muslims should boycott the goods made in US and UK.

Jamat ud Dawa, a religious endowment, was previously known as Markaz ud Dawa, the parent unit of the Lashkar. The name of the outfit was changed following the crackdown after the September 11 attacks and the subsequent Indo-Pak tensions which flared up after the terrorist attack on Indian Parliament.

Following the crackdown, Saeed, a professor of Islamic Studies at Lahore Engineering College, quit the leadership of Lashkar and nominated a ‘‘Kashmiri’’ leader to head it.

Saeed said only by boycotting their manufactured goods, the US and its allies can’t be competed well and insisted that the Muslim rulers should suspend all trade and diplomatic ties with them.

Saeed also asked the Pakistan government to severe its trade and diplomatic ties with US and its allies, whose forces are presently engaged in the Iraq war.

Terming the US-led war on Iraq as an attack on entire Muslim community, Saeed said: ‘‘The MMA government must take steps for sending the faithful to Iraq to fight alongside their Iraqi brothers.’’

He accused the Western countries of dividing the Muslims into different sectarian groups and sects that he said had badly harmed the Muslims’ unity.

The rally was also addressed by top MMA leaders, Fazlur Rehman and Qazi Hussain Ahmad, who urged the Muslim states to open borders for jihadis’ to go to Iraq to fight US and British forces.